High Flying and Always Adored
by Conn8d
Summary: Life goes on for SG1, even when they are no longer a team. Sam and Jack figure out how to navigate 'togetherness' despite often being worlds apart. Starting with the adventures of Sam and the Hammond and a dash of Jack vs. the IOA.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** High Flying and Always Adored

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** Sam/Jack, later Daniel/Vala, Cassie/OC various

**Warnings:** some innuendo, and later some violence.

**Spoilers:** later seasons of SGA and S1 and 2 of SGU, both movies, and all seasons of Sg1.

**Summary:** Life goes on for SG1, even when they are no longer a team. Sam and Jack figure out how to navigate 'togetherness' despite often being worlds apart. Starting with the adventures of Sam and the _Hammond _and a dash of Jack vs. the IOA. And the Lucian Alliance continues to wreak havoc in the Milky Way. Spoilers for SGU. Sam/Jack.

_All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France_

Chapter 1  
><strong>A Day in the Life: "Every Landslide Begins with a Pebble"<strong>  
><strong>Wed May 13, 2009 <strong>  
>09:00 MDT<br>Cheyenne Mountain

Samantha Carter stood at the foot of the ramp leading to the Stargate, gazing at the machine as it slowly dialed up. She watched the chevrons engage, one by one, until finally the ring roared to wondrous blue life. Sam couldn't help but take a deep breath as she watched the rippling blue horizon. That sight never got old.

"Receiving SG1's IDC." Walter Harriman's nasally voice filtered through the intercom system.

The iris opened, and Sam smiled broadly as she saw the familiar faces of her old team.

"Welcome back, guys."

She still found it strange that she was the offering them a return greeting, rather than returning with them. Since coming back to earth after she was recalled from Atlantis, Sam had gone off-world with her old team only a handful of times, and things hadn't ever felt quite the same as the good old days, before her stint in Pegasus. In the months she'd been back, Sam had been doing a lot of Earth based research, mostly on the database they'd received from the Asgard, while the construction and preparation of her next command, an X-304 called the _Hammond_, progressed.

For the past week, Sam had been acting as head of the SGC, while General Landry was away in Washington. She smiled ruefully. Of course the moment she'd been put in charge all hell started to break loose.

Vala reached bottom of the ramp first, skipping up to Sam and softly bumping her in the shoulder.

"Samantha! How's life in the big chair? Did we miss anything interesting?"

As Cam, Daniel, and Teal'c followed Vala down the ramp, Sam slowly shook her head.

_You have no idea._

The past week Earth had narrowly escaped destruction from a Wraith Superhive. Atlantis had used its Zpms to come to the Milky Way, and that team was instrumental in ensuring the downfall of the enemy vessel. Even so, several earth ships had been severely damaged, Atlantis had been damaged and the ancient weapons platform at Area 51 had been completely destroyed. It was not exactly the most succinct victory, but Earth survived.

_Still, we didn't quite kick anyone's asses._

"Actually, you did. The Wraith paid us a visit," Sam responded, eying Daniel, knowing her next tidbit of information would surprise him, "And Atlantis is currently sitting in the San Francisco Bay."

Daniel reacted much like she'd expected him too. He had been fidgeting with his digital video camera as he walked down the ramp, engrossed with it, as though it were as valuable and important as some ancient artifact. When he heard Sam's words however, he stopped short, and his head snapped up, eyes wide behind the metal rims of his glasses.

"I-," he blinked, "Really?" His mouth hung slightly open. Sam nodded and he blinked again. "Really. Wow. I wonder how long it will be there...maybe I can arrange a visit. I have been wanting to research- I mean, uh, is everything alright?"

"Mostly. They took some damage and had to land to make repairs."

Cam smirked, "Quite the location to do it, huh?"

Sam nodded as she turned and began to walk with them out of the gateroom, "Yeah, but they managed to activate the shield in time, so the public can't see it. Couple of our ships took some good hits too, but looks like Earth lives to fight another day."

"So it would appear," Teal'c said, as he unbuckled and handed his gear off to waiting gate techs.

The group made their way into the briefing room, and SG1 filed in and sat around the briefing room table. They all turned to face Sam expectantly.

"Aren't you going to debrief us?" Cam asked when Sam didn't move to join them at the head of the table.

"Actually I am," answered General Landry as he strode in from his adjoining office, "I just returned from Washington. Colonel Carter is to due to gate to the Delta Site to check up on the progress of the _Hammond_," his eyebrows dropped, "I hear she's gonna get the grand tour this visit."

"As my last 'big chair' duty, I just thought I'd take the opportunity to welcome you all back," Sam said gamely as she turned to leave the briefing room.

"And you wanted to see the look on my face when you told me Atlantis was on earth," Daniel grinned.

"Of course," she said over her shoulder, just before exiting the room.

"Have fun with your ship, Sam!" she heard Vala's cheerful voice just as the door to the briefing room shut behind her.

She was actually looking forward to seeing the nearly completed X-304 that was to be her next command. But as she geared up in the locker room alone, and entered the gateroom, Sam couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the team she left upstairs. As the address of the construction site dialed, Sam craned her neck to get a look up at the briefing room window. She couldn't really see anything, but she knew exactly what happened in a standard exploratory debrief.

After all, for ten years of Sam's life, with the exception of several months spent at Area 51, the SGC and being a member of SG1, had been her anchor. In a bizarre way, despite the unpredictable and dangerous nature of the work, the job itself was a very stable aspect of her life. The relationships Sam had built working at the SGC formed the foundation of her personal life. Her family. On Atlantis, Sam felt that she had just begun to gain a new equilibrium, away from her comfort zone. That is, until the IOA's abrupt and unexpected removal of her command had ripped the rug from beneath her feet. And as much Sam _hated_to admit it, even to herself, she knew that the IOA's decision to change her command had shaken her confidence.

It was as though her personal life fell together just as her professional life fell apart. It made you wonder whether it was really possible to have both. Objectively, Sam realized that not everything to do with the dismissal was so bad, particularly in her private life.

Her return to earth had allowed Sam to spend more time with Cassie, whom she adored. It also allowed her to continue exploring this "thing" she had going on with Jack. And Sam had to admit that that was _really _good, even if they were both probably being a bit emotionally obtuse about it. Sam found it was infinitely better to be a flight away from Jack than light years away from him. She was back at her house, and could spend time with her friends. She'd even been able visit her brother more regularly. All definite positives to leaving Atlantis.

Professionally, however, this past year Sam had felt adrift, or rather in limbo. None of her projects were as satisfying as they had been in the past. Sam was itching to get back out in the universe. She couldn't go back to commanding Atlantis, or go back to her old team. The _Hammond _would launch soon, but it had been under construction for most of the past year. And while working on programming to integrate the Asgard core to the ship was important work, work Sam had been doing for most of her time back on earth, it didn't make Sam feel like the command of the _Hammond _really belonged to her.

It wasn't quite her place. Yet, anyway.

The sharp sound of the kawoosh drew Sam's attention back to the gate. She took a deep breath and walked up the ramp towards the wormhole, mentally shaking herself.

_Come on, Sam. Stay Positive._

The old days of team missions and SGC debriefs were gone, just as much as her command of Atlantis. Neither could be recaptured, even if a part of Sam missed them. But the _Hammond_was the next step on her path, a new anchor, a new challenge, and Sam couldn't deny that she wanted to take it.

When Sam stepped through the wormhole to the other side, she was temporarily blinded by the bright light of an alien world. As she blinked the world into focus, both a familiar and unfamiliar figure came into view.

"Good morning, Colonel Carter," Colonel Greg Reynolds, formerly of SG3, said smiling amiably, "Welcome back to Delta site."

"Thank you, Reynolds," Sam returned his greeting. She liked Colonel Reynolds. Over the years they had developed a certain bond as soldier-scientists, each having to walk the thin line between pursuing scientific discovery and following military regulations.

Reynolds gestured to the man accompanying him.

"May I introduce Lt. Colonel Anthony Swift," he pointed back and forth between them, "Swift, this is Colonel Samantha Carter. Carter, Swift. Swift, Carter."

Colonel Swift shook her hand and eyed her appraisingly, "Pleasure to finally meet you, Ma'am. I've been at Gamma site prepping my F-302 squadron for deployment on the _Hammond_. Looking forward to finally getting a good look at the ship."

"Likewise, Colonel. Glad to meet you too."

Sam recognized the man from the personnel file she'd reviewed of staff who would be stationed aboard her ship. Swift would be the second highest regularly stationed officer aboard the _Hammond_, though not a bridge officer. He would be in charge of the F-302 pilot team down below and had served a tour on the _Apollo _F-302 team the year before. He wasn't a very tall man, but something about his posture radiated strength and a silent intensity.

"Okay, follow me," Reynolds said buoyantly, turning to lead them to the Delta base and its massive aircraft hangers. He set a brisk pace, and Sam and Swift followed a few paces behind.

"Well Carter, we have been really busy lately. The _Apollo _paid a visit for some small fixes and the Chinese have left the_ Sun Tzu_here for some more extensive repairs," Reynolds glanced back at Sam, eyes twinkling, "Something about a pesky little Superhive attack on earth...practically never had so many X-304's in one place at the same time, at least in dry dock."

_Pesky is quite the descriptor. _

Sam acknowledged his comment with a small nod, and she exchanged a sideways glance with Colonel Swift.

"I wouldn't say it was little."

That made both men chuckle. She could tell Reynolds had settled nicely into his new position as base commander of the Delta site, and Sam was happy if a bit envious after her experience leaving Atlantis. The Delta base itself was primarily used as the off-world construction and maintenance site of the entire X-304 fleet. The base was in some ways more secure than earth, and given the destruction of the ancient weapons platform at Area 51, Sam could see the wisdom of not putting all of earth's defense apples, as it were, in one basket.

When they reached the hanger, complete with its retractable roof, Reynolds lead them in. "We have made a lot of progress since your last visit Colonel Carter. Right on track for launch in June. Things are looking good."

Sam followed him into the massive building. The sight that met her was breath taking. She thought General Hammond would have been proud of the vessel that shared his name. The last time she'd visited, only the bare frame of the massive vessel had been complete. Now, the seemingly never-ending silver hull of the _Hammond _was largely completed, with only a few sporadic welders suspended from above, adding the final touches.

Sam let her eyes roam every part of the ship that she could see, only pausing to spare a glance at Swift who also seemed to be engrossed in the _Hammond_.

When he saw how enthralled with the ship she seemed to be, Reynolds gave her a small wink, "Good looking ship."

"That's to be expected," Sam said, grinning wistfully, "Has to live up to its namesake."

Swift nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."

Reynolds turned to her knowingly, "It will."

Sam knew that he missed the old general too.

"Alright," Reynolds continued rubbing his hands together, "Let's get this tour going. Ready?"

_I think so. Definitely._

* * *

><p>14:27 EDT<br>Homeworld Command

Sometimes Jack O'Neill hated the IOA. Actually he hated it most of the time. He hated their political infighting, and endless power plays. He hated the way that every little aspect of a decision was analyzed, contested, and re-imagined by sub-committee representatives from various countries with headache inducing frequency. It all seemed to obscure the issue at hand and to discount the human effort required to operate the Stargate program at all. Jack longed for the decisive efficiency of the military chain of command. He thought that politics, particularly international politics, sucked.

Case in point, the phone discussion Jack was currently having with Petr Bezborodov, (not so affectionately nicknamed "Bezboredy" in Jack's own mind) the new Russian IOA representative felt like it was going around in circles.

_It's like talking to a brick wall._

"Well, Mr. Bezborodov," Jack concentrated on breathing slowly, willing his voice to sound calm, "while I do appreciate what a wonderful research opportunity having Atlantis on earth is, I think we'd be better served by focusing on fixing the damn thing, and getting it back in space because right now it is floating in the San Francisco Bay."

Bezborodov was not dissuaded, "But General-"

Jack cut him off, waving his finger to his empty office for emphasis, "Ah, ah! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to maintain a Naval quarantine in such a heavily populated area?"

By the end of the conversation no progress had been made, and Bezboredy had made veiled threats of mentioning the conversation to his superiors. Jack was reasonably sure that the president and the rest of the IOA would never allow Atlantis to remain indefinitely in the bay, nor would they be interested in shipping it to Russia, so this whole thing with Bezboredy would probably only continue as a minor nuisance. He hung up the phone and shook his head.

Jack was less sure about whether all the members of the IOA would be willing to let Atlantis return to the Pegasus galaxy after it was space worthy. Already there were rumblings about keeping Atlantis very near to earth, especially given the recent loss of the Ancient weapons platform. The conflict this argument would create in Homeworld Security was sure to be a doozy.

Jack winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. _I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it._He settled down and got started on his ever present pile of paperwork. On days like today he really missed sticking it to the man, rather than being the man.

His phone rang again, and Jack sighed. Maybe this Bezboredy thing wasn't going to turn out to be as small an issue as he had originally considered. He let his hand hover over the phone briefly before he reached down and picked it up.

"General O'Neill."

"Hi Jack!" He was pleasantly surprised to hear the excited voice of Cassandra Frasier on the line.

"Hey Cass," he said instantly more relaxed, though slightly confused, "Why didn't you call my cell?" That was the phone to which Jack liked to direct his personal calls.

"I did, but it went straight to voicemail, so I figured you forgot to charge it again."

Jack fished the damn thing out of his pocket, and eyed it suspiciously, fingering the power button. It didn't come on. Come to think of it, Jack couldn't really remember when he had last plugged it in.

"Well," Jack said smiling somewhat sheepishly, "I may have forgotten to do that."

"No worries," the young woman answered, her voice sounding slightly breathy as she fought to conceal her amusement. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

"For you? Two minutes."

_Screw paperwork._

Jack relaxed and leaned back in his chair. Hearing Cassie's voice always made his tension and stress vanish. Jack was so proud of Cassie. She was a part of his family, and he knew he couldn't love her any more than her already did, even if she really were his own daughter. He didn't see or talk to her near as much as he wanted to since his move to Washington, so he cherished any and all moments of contact with her.

"Speaking of time, aren't you supposed to taking, your final *final* exams as a college student, Miss senior?" he teased.

"Actually I mostly had papers due. All I have left is to turn my last one in at 3, then that's it."

"Undergraduate degree," Jack said, "Done and done."

"Yeah." She sounded like she hardly believed it herself. The past few years had been hard on Cass, and the road to college graduation had been long, and decidedly non-linear. Only 17 when her adopted mother Janet died, Cassandra had initially left Colorado for Nevada to attend university. But the girl had had a really difficult time, and been overwhelmed by the weight of her loss combined with the weight of her coursework, and trying to acclimate to a new location.

After Janet's death, all of SG1 had rallied around the teenager. Carter had taken over the "mom" role in Cassie's life, and never was this more evident to Jack than in her care for Cassie following her first semester at UNLV. Sam had transferred to Area 51, rented a place in Las Vegas, and helped Cassie to get back on track. In the end, Cassie decided that she needed to stick closer to home, near her emotional support system of family and friends, so transferring to the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs was a better choice for her than Nevada. She'd also used the transfer to change her major from Pre-Med to Journalism and Pre-Law. This choice surprised her SG-1 family, but they'd all supported her, and Jack loved how the changes allowed Cassie to thrive in the past 4 years. No matter what, he was glad the young woman was happy.

"Jack?" Cassie interrupted Jack's thoughts. "I just want to go over some of the logistics for this weekend. You're still coming right?"

He winced at the uncertainty in her voice. Jack had missed quite a few things over the years, most recently her senior thesis presentation because of a meeting with some senator about the progress (or lack of progress) achieved by the Icarus project. Luckily Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, and even Cam and Vala had managed to make it. He still felt awful about missing the presentation, another reason to hate the IOA, and had made absolutely certain he would be able to attend Cassandra's graduation.

"There is no way in hell I'd miss your graduation Cass. Sam said your thesis presentation went really well, and I'm sorry I couldn't make it. But this?" he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Nothing short of an alien invasion will make me miss this."

Jack coughed slightly thinking that the recent wraith superhive incident had nearly created this exact scenario. That was beside the point.

"Don't worry about the presentation. It's really okay, Jack. But, um- so this weekend. It's just that there's more than just the ceremony on Sunday..." Cassie said awkwardly.

"More?" Jack prompted when the girl's pause stretched into a silence.

"Yeah, there's a Journalism reception for the families of students in the department on Saturday afternoon. I know you don't always like that kind of thing, but Sam and Daniel and Teal'c are going and if you come I can introduce you to my advisor, you'd like him, and-"

He decided to ease her nerves and stop her from rambling, "Actually Cassie, Sam does let me know about most of this stuff."

Though Jack was damned if he knew how Carter kept track of so many small details. Even when she was in Atlantis, she'd forward him emails about things going on in not only Cassie's life, but for the other members of SG1, Rya'c, and even stuff about her own niece and nephew.

"She sent me a copy of the whole schedule, so I know about this shindig, and the awards reception Sunday and its all fine. I'll be there, with bells on."

"Bells?" Cass still didn't sound comfortable.

"Yasureyoubetcha!"

"Jack, there is something else. I was uh, wondering well…Sean and I thought it would be nice for our families to get together and have dinner. His parents and little sister are coming for the ceremony, and they'll be there on Saturday…so I uh, thought that you and Sam could come and we could all eat together."

Jack hadn't expected this. He knew about Cass's boyfriend, but generally tried to avoid thinking about Cassie and romance at all. On some level he still found it hard to believe that the little girl they'd rescued from Hanka was now a grown young woman, one who had been dating this Sean guy for almost two years. He'd never met the kid, which up to this point was probably for the best as Jack was afraid he'd scare the poor guy away in a bid to make sure he was good enough for Cass, so he was a little taken aback by Cassie's request.

Jack also found he was flattered that Cassie was casting himself and Carter as her de facto parents; the two people she wanted to introduce to Sean's family. He wasn't all that surprised about Carter actually, but Cassie could easily have asked Daniel, or even Teal'c to the dinner instead of Jack.

"Sam already said she'd go," Cassie continued, taking his silence as a refusal, "so it's-it's fine if you don't want to do it."

"No, no, no," Jack backpedalled quickly, "I'll do it. Don't worry. It's still just a little hard for this old soldier to believe you have a…well, a someone."

Cassie chuckled, clearly relieved, "No bells then?"

"I'm thinkin', no."

"I promise it won't be that bad."

"Of course not," Jack stole a glance at his watch, and groaned, "Look Cass, I'm sorry, I have a meeting in ten. I will do any and all family related graduation stuffs. It'll be my pleasure. I'll be back in the Springs late Friday night, ok?"

"See you at home then," she added.

Home.

By home, Jack guessed Cassie meant Carter's house. For all three of them.

Jack, and Sam, and Cassie.

Strange. It was still hard for him to believe.

After Jack sold his house and moved to DC, he and Sam fell into a quiet relationship of sorts. No longer directly in the same line of command, separated by regulations, they just, well, came together. They'd started out by going fishing, and things had...escalated. To Jack it seemed that they were already so emotionally entwined and knew each other so well, that the shift in their relationship was inevitable. Like gravity or something. And because they were both still working in the military, their new relationship wasn't exactly something either Jack or Sam liked to broadcast.

Unfortunately, they'd never solidly lived together beyond the odd weekend, or week or so of leave. They'd also never really stopped and talked about anything, or agreed to define 'it', their relationship, (whatever it was) either. Still, Jack considered the new state of affairs to be a major improvement over the emotional agony they'd endured before, when they were in the direct chain of command. He found that their newly explored physical intimacy alone was well worth maintaining the undefined nebulous "relationship" he and Sam now shared. No way he'd complain. And so far Sam hadn't either.

To be honest Jack didn't really know what Sam thought about it. She never said anything about labeling their "thing". He was more comfortable labeling what it was not. It was not an affair, or a fling. It was not casual or short term. But beyond that definitions could elusive.

Jack was more than happy with the new status quo, so he certainly didn't want to rock the boat. Besides, he felt that they didn't need words and concrete definitions anyway. They just were. Together. So, things were still complicated, but Jack thought they were doing okay, considering that the relationship had survived a yearlong intergalactic separation, and appeared to be in no danger when facing another series of long term separations.

Now, whenever Jack came to Colorado, he stayed at Carter's house, even when she wasn't there, even when she was in the Pegasus Galaxy commanding Atlantis. Jack had his own key, and Sam did the same thing at his apartment when she was in DC, though that occurred a lot less often than Jack visiting Colorado, because he liked to get away from the Pentagon as much as possible when he had the chance.

Through this arrangement and in light of their 'something', Jack felt he was beginning to really know Carter, beyond being his 2IC, or even his friend.

He now knew that when she wasn't "on the clock" as it were, or drugged out of her mind in the infirmary, and most especially after they'd...well, _after, _Sam sighed a lot and sometimes even snored in her sleep. Unlike Jack, who could never fully shake the light sleep of a Black Ops man, always ready to jump into action at a moment's notice, when Carter was in her own house, and in her own bed, she slept hard, flipping into various positions and tangling blankets throughout the night.

Jack now knew the exact location of Sam's infamous, ticklish (_oh yeah_) and, at least in Jack's opinion, under-appreciated mole. He now knew that Carter liked filling her home with pictures of friends and family, not just in the living room, or dining room. There were framed photos in the study, the kitchen, the basement and in every hallway. A few snapshots could even be found in her garage.

And now Jack knew that the somewhat ratty afghan that was always draped on Sam's living room chair, had been started by Sam's mother, in an attempt to get her tomboy of a daughter to learn to knit. Teenage Sam had never really gotten into it, and it was only half finished when Mrs. Carter died. After that, Carter had guiltily taught herself to knit and finished it, and she'd told him that she still regretted not letting herself learn from her mother when she had the chance.

Jack supposed Carter's place was now a home for Cassie too, though she spent most of her time in a shared an apartment near the university's main campus. More than once Jack and Cassie's visits overlapped. Sometimes it would be the three of them, which was always nice, and allowed for cozy chess tournaments and laughter filled evenings. Jack would barbecue if the weather was good, and let the ladies pick some girly tv show to watch. If Sam was off-world, and they were both there, Jack and Cassie ruled the roost, watching silly movies, old hockey games, and eating pizza. It suddenly hit Jack that these were probably the recent moments that made Cassie ask him to meet her boyfriend's parents.

Cassie's voice pulled him from his realization.

"Love you, Jack."

"You too, Cassie. Don't forget to turn in that paper."

That comment got a laugh.

"I won't. Bye."

They hung up and Jack shook his head smiling slightly, wondering when his personal life began to resemble something "normal". That conversation could easily be mistaken as one belonging to an ordinary family. Pig might be flying somewhere.

Well, excluding the fact that Cassie was born on another planet, that Sam spent a significant amount of time on other planets, and that his upcoming meeting was a project update on a scientific and military base light-years away from earth, on, in fact, a different planet.

_Oh, yeah. Completely normal._

* * *

><p>13:58 MDT<br>Delta Site

Sam could barely contain her glee. She had to at least try to appear somewhat calm, she was a Colonel after all, meant to be stoic and decisive, surrounded by a crew that would soon be under her command. But as she toured the decks of her new ship, Sam couldn't help but marvel at all the fascinating new systems being installed aboard the USS_ George Hammond_. Most of the new systems had great potential, from both a scientific and military perspective.

This visit was proving to boost Sam's spirits. Gone was the melancholy she'd felt this morning, replaced now with a buzzing anticipation. This would soon be her ship, and slowly she was beginning to feel comfortable with that. Above all, Sam was excited.

Designed for exploration, and defense, Sam knew the schematics of the _Hammond _like the back of her own hand, and could list its features and specifications better than she could recall her own grocery list. Asgard shields, trinium enhanced bulkheads, state of the art hyperdrive, railguns, beam weapons, Asgard core, transporter beams, transporter rings and no less than 8 onboard science labs.

_The Sun Tzu only has 5 labs...but maybe that's petty..._

With only little bias, Sam could confidently describe this ship as easily the most advanced in the Tau'ri fleet.

Her current tour guide, a young space geologist, Dr. Kofi Aguda, was clearly finding it difficult to contain his own enthusiasm. "Ma'am the capabilities of this particular laboratory for shipboard examination of space-born particles are compelling! The research conducted here could be nothing short of groundbreaking."

He turned to his left and began to point out the various pieces of equipment on that side of the lab, punctuating every one with fluid hand gestures.

"This microscope is so accurate! Very nice." Dr. Aguda carefully gave her a thorough article by article tour of the lab, giving her detailed information about each piece of equipment, complete with his own happy commentary. The obvious joy the scientist had for the project colored his slightly accented voice, and within the tight metal walls of the lab, his words seemed to echo, holding more weight.

Considering how this lab would fit in with the rest of the ship's capabilities, it really did have the potential to change the way that the X-304 examined space matter, if you cared about space matter, as Dr. Aguda clearly did. Confronted with the young doctors obvious excitement, Sam couldn't help but join in a little.

"True, and in conjunction with the ship's Asgard core, the potential for discovery and quick identification of debris far exceeds anything on the rest of the fleet," she agreed.

"Oh yes!" the young man beamed and a broad toothy smile spread across his face, "Instant access to that database alone will increase the laboratory's ability to identify materials in a timely and accurate way. It very much beats traditional chemical analysis."

"I'm sure it will."

"I cannot wait!" Dr. Aguda gushed.

Sam smiled back. She could hardly wait either.

As if he sensed her thoughts, Aguda turned to face her.

"I imagine you are looking forward to launch day next month, Ma'am, just as much as I am. I have never been actually posted to an X-304, though I did some short term research on the _Apollo _last year," the doctor continued conversationally, "I went with them to the Pegasus, you know. When you all fought the Asurans? And the replicator bubble? Oh my! I never thought I'd see such a thing as that…"

Sam nodded, recalling the event that occurred during her command of the Atlantis mission. Her abrupt change of command continued to be a sore spot for her, but hearing the young scientist's awestruck description of events, Sam could recall that part of her time as leader of Atlantis fondly. Dr. Aguda was a luminous sort of person, and Sam had the feeling he would be very difficult not to like. He had a certain gravitas, he was good with people, and at ease among them; a skill that she knew some in the scientific community lacked, so Sam suspected Aguda would be an asset to crew.

"Well, I look forward to working with you," she said as she held out her hand, "And thank you for the thorough tour of the laboratories."

"Not a problem, Colonel," Dr. Aguda said shaking her hand vigorously.

When Sam walked out of the laboratory into the adjoining hall, she found Reynolds and Swift already waiting for her.

"Last stop, bridge and command center," Reynolds announced, before quickly turning and walking down the hall.

_Gosh does the man ever walk at a normal pace?_

Sam couldn't remember him walking so fast at the SGC. Then again, he was probably excited about the ship too.

Her mood thoroughly improved from the morning, Sam followed along, upping her pace to match Reynolds. Swift however stayed several paces back. Soon they would be working together, so despite the officer's marked tendency toward silence, throughout the joint parts of their visit, Sam continued to make attempts at conversation.

She called back to the other officer, "How are the F-302's?"

"Fine, Colonel. Pilots will love it. Everything looks good," he waited a beat and then said, "How are the labs?"

"Oh, great. They should be able to do some useful experiments. We can also do a lot of on-board analysis too. And all the scientists I met seem to be really dedicated..."

Swift, trying valiantly to look more interested than Sam suspected he actually was, nodded, and continued to walk a few paces behind in silence.

When they reached the bridge, Reynolds backed in, spreading his arms in a wide welcoming gesture.

"Here we are," he said, grinning, "New design for the bridge turned out pretty nice. Asgard core access at every station. State of the art weapons and communications array."

Sam and Swift stepped onto the bridge, and walked in opposite directions around the room. Reynolds stood back and let the other Colonels explore. Swift went right to a weapons consul, while Sam continued to survey the rest of the room.

It really was quite a sleek set up. Sam thought back to the other bridges of earth vessels she had visited. Earlier earth space vessels had tended toward small and efficient use of space, taking only just as much space as necessary. The bridge of the _Prometheus_ had been much smaller than the _Hammond's_, and very cramped_. _Once she'd been trapped aboard that ship alone, and concussed. The size of the bridge had made Sam's addled mind feel as though the walls of that ship were closing in around her, a feeling which occasionally persisted long after her recovery. The standard X-304's that proceeded the _Hammond, _had rather larger bridges, and to Sam's relief, it was clear that this newest ship followed suit.

She leaned forward and activated a tactical station, smiling faintly as the system flashed to life. After clicking her way through a few programs, Sam glanced up was surprised to meet Colonel Swift's beaming gaze. His eyes twinkled with the most animation she'd seen him exhibit throughout their whole visit.

"Well Ma'am, I have to say that I am dying to to test this thing out in the air."

Sam grinned broadly. Swift seemed giddy. And she could hardly blame him. The _Hammond _was undeniably an excellent, state of the art vessel, with the potential to be a force for good throughout the Milky Way.

"Are we satisfied?" Reynolds queried in a very measured tone, as though he was talking to a pair of small children who'd just been to an amusement park.

Swift cocked his head at Sam, raising his eyebrows in a silent question with a barely concealed smirk on his lips.

Sam turned and faced Reynolds, idly leaning on the arm of the nearest consul chair.

"Oh, yes."

_That and more._

* * *

><p>16:41 EDT<p>

Homeworld Command

_This has got to be the longest meeting ever. EVER._

Scientists droned on. It made Jack O'Neill miss Carter's clear and 'General-friendly' descriptions of complexly dull concepts. IOA folk bickered. It made Jack miss the days before the organization even existed. The politician...well politicked. Jack was certain he'd never miss anything about politics.

Jack pursed his lips, and fidgeted with a black BIC pen. He flipped the slender object from finger to finger. He winced, and exchanged an exhausted glance with General Maurice Vidrine. He seemed as frustrated with the whole mess of a meeting as Jack was. Time to interrupt. Just as one very nervous looking member of the science team, somebody Volker, took a breath to continue his report, Jack opened his mouth.

"So, let me see if I have this straight. You guys know that this 9th chevron thing is...important. And you know theoretically what needs to happen to open it. Using the planet's Naquadria core for power and all that. Still no idea what dialing this chevron will actually do, and no idea where it might go. Right?"

He looked at the lead scientist, Dr. Nicholas Rush, who held his head with one hand, and a pair of glasses with the other.

"That's correct," was the accented answer.

Jack looked back at Vidrine, indicating the collection of folders in front of the other general.

"And these reports from Colonels Telford and Young say that the Icarus Base on P4X-351 is reasonably secure militarily for the time being; it's isolated from the gate-network; Free Jaffa and Vidrine has X-304's monitoring the area as often as possible. Telford's team is raring and ready for the mission as soon as you guys," he swung back to the scientists, pointing his pen in their direction, "figure out how to dial the 9th chevron without blowing the whole planet up."

Nods all around.

Jack raised his eyebrows, "But you're all hung up on the math?"

The Scottish scientist answered again, "Yes. However, I believe more progress can be made given more time-"

_Okay. We have a math problem. That shouldn't have taken hours for your guys to explain._

"Ah," Jack held up a hand to stop Rush, "Yeah, you want time, I get that."

He turned finally to Senator Alan Armstrong, "You think this is a matter of needing an outside perspective. Too many of the same minds looking at the same problem."

The Senator looked smug, "Well, General O'Neill sometimes when your too close to a situation you can miss important details. A fresh set of eyes might do this project wonders, and frankly, financially it would be better if we could solve this problem sooner rather than later. To that end, it would be best for the project to do whatever we can to find that outside perspective as soon as possible."

_Objectivity and being too close to a situation are interesting concepts for you to bring into the conversation given that your kid is your assistant, do ya think?_

Across the meeting room table, three of the IOA representatives shifted uncomfortably, as they began to place papers back into folders, and folders into brief cases. However, their committee head, Dr. Carl Strom, met Jack's gaze evenly, and didn't blink.

_So you knew about this plan of his already. Smooth...the politicians and pencil pushers know everything before the military and even the damned scientists are given any information. Typical._

Jack nodded and pressed on.

"Your proposing that we put this...math thing on the internet. In a game, so that some-what? Some undiscovered genius who happens to play these games will solve it? What are the odds that this would work? There is a risk of creating leaks here. We put the problem into the game and what? We just wait?"

"Exactly General," Armstrong smiled and got all preachy, "I feel that there are plenty of intelligent and as you say, undiscovered people in our world who could make fine contribution to not only the Icarus project, but to the program as a whole, if they were given the chance. My assistant has pointed out to me that online gaming is a great way to vet candidates, particularly gifted young people. The competitive nature of gaming will drive the search for a solution in low pressure situation, and I believe it will make things go faster. I feel that this is a magnificent opportunity for the Stargate Program."

The Senator stood up and looked away from Jack surveying the whole room. "And frankly the president agrees with me. Programing and implementation plans are already underway. The project should be online by the first of the month."

_Talked it up to the Commander in Chief already, huh? How very very typical._

Armstrong turned to the Rush and scientists "You will assist in further development and soon this whole project will be a great success. If that's all?"

Then the politician rose and left the conference room, followed awkwardly by IOA representatives. Rush looked angry as he stood up and stormed out a moment later, throwing only a brief nod to Jack. Strom pushed his chair back last, almost lazily, giving Jack the briefest smirk before exiting the room.

_That's that then._

Jack looked at the remaining people in the room. The other scientists murmured amongst themselves, and General Vidrine still looked as frustrated as Jack was.

Jack cleared his throat to interrupt the scientists waved a hand toward the door, "Dismissed..."  
>They scattered and soon the room was empty except for Jack and Vidrine.<p>

The other General looked at Jack wearily, "I'm not sure I like this O'Neill."

Jack's mouth twitched slightly, "I don't think I like it either, but since Hayes and the IOA have already signed off on it...At the very least, even with the game, we still have plausible deniability, and there is no guarantee anything that might leak would be that bad. It's just some math problems after all."

Vidrine nodded, "Yes. However, I am also concerned about potential problems even if the game is successful and someone solves the equation. There is a reason only a select group of people are recruited into this program. A reason only a small number of people have access to sensitive scientific and military information. Not everyone is qualified and equipped to do this kind of work, even if they are objectively intelligent. I'm not saying we never let a broader base of people in, but I think this idea might be a few years ahead of its time. Either way, we have to keep a close eye on this so we can be as prepared as possible."

"I will put in a call to the president see how invested in the plan he really is, and at the very least to see why on earth this little idea has gone as far as it has without either us or the relevant scientists being notified. Still, I am sure we're gonna end up trying it, so yeah," Jack nodded, "we'll keep very close eye."

They both stood to leave.

_Something about this just doesn't feel right. This whole thing better not blow up in our faces._

* * *

><p>19:30 MDT<p>

Colorado Springs

Somewhere in the middle of eating Chinese food at Cam's house with her old team, Sam realized that she had well and truly fallen in love with the USS _George Hammond_. She was currently gushing about the enhanced hyperdrive systems, and a quick survey of her friend's expressions told Sam that they were probably only feigning interest because they loved her, as opposed to any deep desire to learn about the mechanical workings of her ships intergalactic capabilities.

"Um, Samantha," Vala said, leaning forward apologetically, "As fascinating as all this is..."

_The physics of it all really is fascinating!_

"I'm boring you guys; sorry," Sam added, reigning herself in, and moving her chopsticks to grab another piece of kung pao chicken.

"Well, now we don't mind," Cam said with a careful grin, "We may not understand everything you say, but that doesn't matter. We're glad you're enjoying yourself. Besides, I for one will feel a lot better knowing you're out there flying around watching our backs."

"Hopefully with the destruction of the Ori, Replicators, and the Goa'uld, there'll be less imminent need of back up," Daniel added ruefully, counting enemies down on his fingers.

"Indeed," Teal'c intoned, "However, I do believe that the galaxy is sufficiently dangerous enough without a large enemy force. We have encountered problems on countless missions that had no relation whatsoever to the Goa'uld, Replicators or the Ori."

"Yeah," Cam conceded, "We will probably run into trouble either way, 'specially with you spending more time with the Free Jaffa, but I'll rest easier knowing Sam's out there, armed and ready to beam our butts out."

_Now wait just a minute..._

"It's not like I am going to be in orbit around every planet you visit-"

Cam cut her off with a nudge and wink, and soon everyone was chuckling. But then he grabbed her arm, his face taking on a more serious expression.

"Things are a little quiet out there lately," Cam explained, "I think the Lucian Alliance is up to something. I got a feeling it'll be big and bad. Earth and the good guys could use some more ships out there and I can't think of anyone better than you for the job."

Daniel and Vala, nodded in vigorous agreement.

"You are most uniquely qualified for such an endeavor, Samantha Carter," Teal'c added.

_Okay stop._

"Thanks guys. That means a lot to me. Really."

The evening wound down, and Sam snagged one last piece of chicken before checking the time on her cell phone.

"Hey guys, I should probably get going-"

Vala's eyes lit up dangerously and she gave Sam a toothy grin, "Ah yes! Can't miss a certain call from Washington..."

The guys all shared a knowing glance, and Daniel grinned, "Tell Jack 'hello' for me, alright?"

"Sure."

Sam tried to play it cool until her cheeks flushed. _Traitors._

She smirked back at her friends, and said her goodbyes before heading home.

It wasn't as though their friends didn't know about Sam and Jack. Quite the contrary, Sam suspected that Daniel and Teal'c clued into them long before they themselves actually could verbalize whatever was between them.

And things in the relationship, (she thought calling it anything else made it seem sordid and it wasn't) had been well underway by the time Sam got close to Cam and Vala. So, Sam was used to the whole team knowing. Still, their gentle ribbing always made Sam feel a little giddy, and a little out of control, which she wasn't used to feeling.

About 15 minutes after Sam arrived at her house, her cell phone buzzed, and rushed to grab it. Her calls to Jack were in many ways the best parts of her day. Their conversations were easy, more so than they'd ever been when they were still on the same team. Even the silences were kind of golden, because Sam knew he was still there, with her, listening, even when nothing was being said.

Sam accepted that it would be difficult losing daily contact with Jack when she went on tour with the _Hammond_for weeks or months at a time, but the fact still made her sad.

She frowned. Their nightly private phone calls would be impossible soon.

_Don't worry about that now. We survived a year apart for Atlantis, we can survive this._

"Hello Jack," she said sitting down and curling into the soft cushions of her sofa. If Sam closed her eyes, she could pretend he was right to her, whispering into ear, instead of miles away.

"Hey Carter."

He sounded tired. Weary even. Must have been a tough day at the Pentagon.

"Rough day?"

The line was silent for a beat. Jack exhaled, and Sam thought he was trying to figure out what to say.

_Oh no. Today was definitely rough._

"Yeah, well, politicians you know? They suck."

Sam laughed. No matter how difficult a Homeworld Command situation felt, or how exasperated Jack got, he always managed to not only be brutally honest about it with very few words, but brilliantly funny too.

"They do. I'm sorry. Had to do with the Icarus project?"

"Things with the IOA and this off world spending committee are just heating up. They all want to speed everything along, despite an apparent lack of progress with the 9th chevron. Enjoy the command structure while you have it, Sam."

Sam didn't respond right away, giving Jack the chance to vent, if he needed it. He hardly ever took the opportunity, and preferred to keep "shop talk" to a minimum during their precious phone time. However, she wanted the opening to be there for him. Tonight, to her surprise, Jack continued.

"Strom, that IOA committee head is, I don't know, slippery. I mean, it's hard to read him, even for _me._It's like he thinks working with the military is an unfortunate and unnecessary part of the Stargate program, and yet he'd use us against someone else in a heartbeat, if it benefited him...I dunno."

"Uh, oh."

"And Carter? What do you think of Dr. Nicholas Rush? He's another hard one to read. His file is pretty bare boned. In person he seems a bit cold, but I can tell there's also more going on there, but I doubt I'll find out what because we're not exactly going to reach that 'share time' level. He's not the type."

"Rush? Well, I don't know him that well...Daniel recruited him. We never worked directly together."

"Just-what do you think?"

"He is a brilliant scientist."

"Carter-"

_The science is as much a part of him as a limb, Jack. This I understand._

"He is," she continued, "and he knows it, so not being able to get the 9th chevron working is probably bothering him. Rush wants to be the _one_ guy who _can _figure it out."

"Except he hasn't."

"No."

"That bothers him."

"A lot, and I do know the feeling, but I'd bet it's worse for Rush because-well his wife died pretty recently. Cancer. It wasn't pretty I guess. You can't control a disease like that, no matter how smart you are. So, now, for Rush, I think maybe a lot rides on finishing this project. Maybe he cares about it more. If _he_solves it, then he's fixed it, and his intellect controls something, even though he couldn't control his wife's cancer. After you lose someone well...you're not quite yourself in how you approach things."

"Loss makes you behave differently," he agreed, and Sam lamented that Jack knew this truth from deep experience.

They don't really talk about Charlie. Sam knew Jack didn't ever _want _to talk about it, and this line of conversation was coming a bit too close, so an awkward silence fell between them.

Someday, maybe, Sam would to push him to talk, but not today. Predictably he shifted the topic, deflecting away from pain and loss.

"Well, uh, thanks. How do you find out this stuff about Rush anyway?"

"Dr. Lee had a research assistant to transferred to the Icarus team. She told him. Bill told me. He likes to talk."

"Oh. Good ol' Bill."

Jack coughs a little and the line goes quiet again, and Sam tries to visualize his expression.

_Definitely a head tilt, and maybe a wince._

"But hey, enough of that, I spoke with General Vidrine today, he's all excited about the _Hammond_, says it's the best of the fleet. And considering the meeting two of us sat through today, I think he is doubly glad the 304 program is doing well. No senate committees or IOA types can mess with that. Haven't seen him this revved since _Prometheus._"

"Vidrine gets revved?"

He chucked, "Oh yeah. In his own way, you gotta watch close. Anyhow, _so_? How was your visit?"

_Want the long answer or the very long answer? Maybe the unexpected answer..._

"Very...cool."

"Cool?" Jack sounded incredulous. He didn't expect her to give short answers.

"It's beautiful Jack. I mean, everything is so-wonderful, fantastic, astronomical, amazing. I can't think of enough adjectives for it. I met some of the future crew, and saw the labs and the hyperdrive engines, and I just started to feel like I-"

"Like you have arrived!"

_Big smile. 'There's cake in this building' size smile._

"Ha, no. But yes. I mean, I am ready for this. I feel ready for this."

"I know Carter. You are ready. You'll be brilliant"

"It's different than Atlantis. I'm not stepping into anyone else's place. Me and the crew, us and the ship, we'll all be stepping out into the universe all together. "

"Not just stepping. Hyper-stepping. Hyper-jumping."

They both laughed, then Sam heard him stifle a yawn.

Sam wondered if he might be getting sleepy. It was late D.C. They've talked long into the night on these calls before, and she always feels guilty that "late" for her was "ridiculously late" for him. Tonight especially, since Jack had had a rough day.

"I could honestly talk about it for 24 hours straight, but I hate to keep you up. The short answer is I love love love it. I can't wait to get out there."

"So my competition for your heart is a giant grey hunk of metal named after a beloved bald man. Hard to beat."

"Ha, don't worry, I love you too."

And Sam did. She marveled at how easily the word love flowed between them. Especially given the slightly nebulous definition of their actual relationship. They were two people who loved each other. Sam never doubted Jack when he said he loved her, and always meant it when she spoke the words to him.

A part of her feared defining and categorizing their 'thing' because every time Sam's past relationships had been neatly boxed and filed, love had stopped meaning love, and had stopped being said easily. In the end she and Jonas and Pete were hurt, and the relationships had entered a new category: failed.

That _couldn't _happen with Jack. Sam wasn't sure she could handle that.

"Whew. Good to know," Jack's voice pulled her back to the phone, "Oh before you go! Cassie called me today, double checking all this graduation stuff. And she asked about the dinner with her...her boyfriend."

"Oh good. She said she would do that."

"What do you know about this Sean kid?"

"Not a whole lot. Cass tells me some stuff, most of which she wouldn't want me to tell you, and I doubt you'd want to know anyway. I met him once when they first started dating, before I went to Atlantis. He's a photography major, I think. He liked motorcycles."

"So of course you approve. Motocycle bias!"

_No such thing._

"I think he is very good for her, Jack."

"Okay, but would Janet like him?"

Sam had often asked herself the same question.

"I actually think so. Better than Domonic anyway."

"Hmm. We shall see." He sounded skeptical.

"You don't need to go evaluate him, or scare the crap out of him. Cassie just wants us to meet his parents."

"Us. I know. Kind of...normal, huh?"

_Shockingly. _

"Yeah."

"I'm too old for this. I mean it feels like Cass should still be 12 or something. I'm not sure I am ready for her to be so grown up."

_Preaching to the choir._

"It will be fine, and I guess Sean's parents-" Sam paused placing several errant strands of hair back behind her ear, "his parents are just as nervous as we are."

"Well, _they _should be. They are about to meet a General and a Colonel in the US Air Force. We are kind of a big deal."

She laughed out loud.

_Touche. We kind of are, aren't we? Even with the program so highly classified._

"Well, you're not too old, Jack."

"Carter, at that dinner I'm probably gonna order off the 'honored guests' section of the menu. If that doesn't scream OLD, I don't know what does."

She heard another yawn before he continued.

"Anyway, I get back Friday night. I'm sure you've missed my company."

"Oh yes, I've missed dirty socks in my living room. And your boxes of Fruitloops tipping over in my cabinet. _And _your dried toothpaste on my counter-top. Can hardly survive without them."

She was teasing, but Sam really did love having these things in her house. Concrete evidence that she and Jack shared a life together, in this home, however irregularly. And of course Jack knew this.

He saw through her tease, and teased back. They fit each other.

"Gotta keep you honest, can't have the place looking like a model home, you've owned it for years!"

After their laughter calmed down, a golden silence descended, and Sam reveled in the sheer comfort of an easy conversation. Soon the call would be over, but before they hung up Sam knew they'd try to make it last longer.

"There are _other _things I've missed..." she added suggestively.

"Oh yeah? BIG things?"

_Wow, he really doesn't want to hang up._

No yawns now, but Sam knew they both must be very tired given the decidedly sophomoric direction this conversation was quickly taking. They really should go to bed.

_Screw it._

She giggled.

"Okay, now you wound me."

Sam couldn't help it. More giggles.

"Big enough?"

She was still working to control her laughter, and imagined Jack's face now wore an irresistible pout.

"Agreed," Sam said resolving to stroke his ego a bit, "But seriously, I can't wait to see you. _All _of you. Size does not matter. Quality over quantity."

"I'll be sure to bring the Bengay."

Jack laughed too. Her treacherous cheeks burned again.

"Hanging up now?"

"Okay."

They both remained on the line.

"Now?"

"Yup."

The end of their calls were always like this. They both felt goofy, but each was loathe to hang up first.

Sam and Jack were both reluctant to end the call. Reluctant to stop talking to each other. To return to their being physically alone and miles apart.

"Love you, Carter."

"You too, Jack."

There was a soft click and the line went silent. He was gone.

_Until the weekend._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
><strong>Endings and Beginnings: "Hitch Your Wagon to a Star"-<strong>_**Ralph Waldo Emerson**_  
><strong>Sat May 16, 2009<strong>  
>18:00 MDT<br>Colorado Springs

Jack craned his neck and peered through the blinds of the restaurant's tinted window. He glanced down at his watch, fidgeted with the buckle, and pulled the blinds back for a second look. Cassandra had opted to ride with her boyfriend's family to help them find the restaurant. Now, Jack wondered whether Cass needed help finding the place. She was certainly taking long enough. He startled slightly when Sam spoke up beside him.

"Cass just texted me, they're almost here," she said, "It'll be 5 minutes. Relax."

"I am," Jack retorted, a little petulantly. He shifted in the cramped booth.

_Mostly._

"Uh, huh."

Jack couldn't really pin down why he was anxious.

_Not so much anxious exactly. Uncomfortable waiting._

The journalism reception that afternoon had turned out to be a good time, and it had only been interrupted by one minor work related call; from Colonel Davis saying that the first meeting about the future of Atlantis had been scheduled for June 1st and that Jack could find all the preliminary briefs in his inbox. Jack didn't actually plan on looking at them until after the ceremony, but he sure as hell didn't care to share that tidbit of information with Davis.

At the reception, Cass's advisor, a Professor Miles Quinton, was a hoot. She'd been right; he liked the guy. Jack discovered the man was a true Simpson's fan. Cassie was able to convince the professor to do his unexpectedly good Marge Simpson impression to the delight of everyone, especially the current and former members of SG1.

All things considered, Cass had had a good turn out on the guest front. In addition to Sam, Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c, Mitchell and Vala also tagged along to the reception in support of the young woman. Jack suspected the unlikely group confused others at the reception when the Cass categorically introduced the whole entourage as her 'family'. Between the six of them Cassandra had more family present than most other graduates-to-be. At that, Jack had idly wondered what exactly Prof Q and everyone else thought of Cassandra's unconventional and boisterous family.

Sean Carlton and his family had been there too, (apparently he'd snagged a photo journalism minor) but in the crowd Jack hadn't really been able to say more than 'hello' to them. He wondered what they thought of Cassie's 'non-traditional' family. Jack had taken a good look at Sean, but it hadn't really been too illuminating. Kid was average looking, average height. Dark hair, too long in Jack's opinion, was tucked behind his ears, and he wore sneakers with no socks. Hard to make much of a personality call on that.

_He doesn't like to do laundry?_

The same thing covered Mom and Dad. They were middle aged, well dressed, and more than a little round. By the way Dad combed his hair Jack guessed he was in denial about going bald. Mom seemed like a bit of a social butterfly. She was talking to someone new every time Jack caught sight of her. Either that or she was after gossip.

The major impression Jack developed of any of the Carlton family came from the little sister. She looked about 14 or so and had the same sleek dark hair as her brother. Jack had seen the girl standing off to the side, looking decidedly bored as she sporadically poked the buttons on her cell phone. She probably had a million other places she'd rather be.

_Poor kid. I'd be bored too._

Nothing about Sean's family seemed unusual or intimidating that afternoon, so Jack was at a loss to explain his tension in waiting for them to arrive now. The feeling reminded him of waiting for test results in school or military inspection at boot camp. Dinner should not feel like that big of a deal.

_Maybe it's indigestion._

Under the table, Carter gave his good knee a reassuring squeeze. Somehow she didn't seem to be nervous at all. Then again, if he as cynical, Jack would bet that Sam could be feeling exactly like she was waiting for school results, or for a boot camp inspection. Her resulting emotions were just slightly different than his. The outcomes of her tests and inspections were different too.

_Stop wallowing O'Neill. Just don't worry. They're not gonna bit your head off. Unless they're from P3X-227. Which is impossible. Or at least, highly unlikely._

Jack grabbed some sugar cubes and began building little structures on his napkin. Sam stared at them with a furrowed brow, and then lifted her gaze to meet his. He shrugged and continued stacking cubes. She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, she smiled softly and squeezed his knee again.

Turned out that time passed quickly when you weren't thinking about being worried. Before he knew it, Sam cleared her throat and nudged his ribs.

"Here they come."

Jack looked up, just as the group, led by Cassie and Sean, hand in hand, arrived at their table. He and Sam both stood up in greeting, strangely synchronized, as they quickly hugged Cass, and shook hands with Sean and his parents. All Jack got from the little sister was a half-smile, and a 'sup nod.

Then everyone sat down. And said nothing. For a significant period of time.

_Awkward._

Just as looks of sheer panic began to spread on Sean and Cassie's faces, Sean's father cleared his throat and spoke.

"General Jack O'Neill, right? And Colonel Samantha Carter."

"Yeah, uh two L's", Jack held up his fingers, "I'm sorry, I met so many people at the party..."

The mother spoke up this time, gesturing to herself and her husband, "Barbara and Michael Carlton."

_Barbara and Michael. Michael and Barbara. Barb and Mike. Nobody called Barb and Mike on P3X-227._

Sean cut in, looking a little guilty that he hadn't introduced his own family.

"This is my sister, Gillian."

The girl said nothing, seemingly engrossed in her phone yet again. Carter nodded and Jack smiled at her.

"And I'm-" the young man shifted uncomfortably and exhaled, "I'm Sean."

_So it looks like we all have names. And we can even say them out loud. Fantastic conversation._

Cass usually had no trouble in social situations, in fact she had a tendency to dominate them, so Jack was surprised when she appeared to be very nervous.

"Sean's parents, they're vets," she added lamely.

Another long silence descended at the table, and Jack cringed at the embarrassingly bad foot this dinner was starting off on.

Then, to the shock of all, Gillian Carlton lifted her gaze from her cell phone and spoke.

"They're veterinarians," the teen deadpanned, "Not veteran's."

Jack snorted, Carter giggled, and Michael and Barbara laughed. This seemed to make Cassie and Sean relax some, and Jack saw a triumphant glint in the youngest Carlton's eye.

He smiled at her, "Glad that's cleared up."

After that the proverbial ice was broken, and conversation began to flow more easily. They were able to small talk about the unseasonably warm weather the Springs had had that afternoon at the reception, until a waitress approached the table and took their drink order.

"You've been together how long?" Barbara cheerfully asked, quite pressingly, just as the waitress left, "How did you meet? You're not married..."

_Aren't you nosy._

Jack looked at Sam and saw his own deer in the head lights feeling reflected back at him in her expression.

"Well we, uh..."

The problem of having an undefined, though utterly devoted, 'thing' is that people you don't really know expect you to be clearly labeled.

_Are you dating? Engaged? Married? 'Living in sin'?_

'Together' never seemed to be a satisfying answer for nosy people.

_Maybe we should get it printed on matching T-shirts. Surely that would cut the questioning._

"They've known each other 12 years," Cassie answered, "And they've been living together for about 3."

Now it was Sam's turn to stammer, "We, um..."

"Well, you are!" Cass crossed her arms, "Except when Sam is...deployed."

_On other planets._

"How nice. You're between tours now?"

"You could say that. I am stationed at Cheyenne Mountain right now but soon I'll be," Sam made a vague expansive gesture with one hand, "back out there."

_Waaay out there._

Jack bit back a chuckle.

"NORAD is at Cheyenne Mountain, right? Sean told me you're something of a military physicist? Yes...that must be interesting. And you both are Cassandra's godparents?" Barbara questioned, turning to Jack.

"Something like that," Cassie responded, her voice sounding a bit thick, "I've known them since I was young, and they took care of me after I lost my mom."

"She died in the line of duty, right? Awful. How kind of you both to take Cassie on."

"Well," Carter began sadly, "Janet was my best friend, and we have known Cass since she came here...we couldn't just leave her on her own."

Jack nodded, keeping his eyes on Cass. The whole situation of Janet's death was something she didn't readily talk about, and by her downcast expression, he guessed she wasn't feeling up to it now. Not with virtual strangers.

_Hopefully, Barb can pick up on that and drop the topic...now. Or now. Any topic...pick any topic..._

"Still, that must have been very difficult for all of you. And so selfless of you to take Cass on for the dreaded college years..."

"Oh yes, very admirable," Michael added distractedly after a sharp nudge from his wife. Clearly the man was tuning out the whole conversation in favor of reading the specials on the dinner menu. Jack supposed that he was used to his wife's nosy ways, so he didn't pay much attention. Either that or Michael really wanted to eat.

_Probably both._

Jack was amused to note that both Michael and Gillian seemed to take food very seriously. Gone was the teen's ever-present cell phone. Gillian also clearly wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Both were genuinely and totally engrossed in their menus.

_On that, we can agree: food is a serious business._

"Sean said your mother had adopted you, after your biological parents died in Canada? And then she passed. So sad..."

_Just drop it already. For cryin' out loud._

Barbara seemed ready to ask another question. Sam looked like she was about to get testy (never a good sign), and Cass still looked uncomfortable, so Jack was about to jump in and forcefully redirect the conversation, when he noticed that Sean's attention was on the young woman as well. He too seemed to be tuned-in to her discomfort.

"Mom," Sean beat Jack to the quick, turning a stern gaze on his mother, "I'm sure they know _exactly _how sad it all is," Sean glanced at Jack apologetically, "They lived it."

Barbara's eyes widened in realization and her eyes darted between Sam and Cassie. "Oh, I-I'm so sorry. My curiosity tends to get the better of me," she breathed, seemingly chastised.

"It _is _an unusual situation," Jack stated icily.

The table was quiet again.

"They lived where?" Gillian asked, suddenly folding her menu and laying it in front of her.

"What? Who?" Michael's head finally popped out from behind his.

"_They_did," Gillian continued tilting her head toward Sam and Jack, "At an unusual station."

"No, that's not what we were talking about," Sean said, giving his family a slightly fond and slightly exasperated look, "Never mind, you weren't even listening."

If the family dinner was a test, Jack decided that he and Sam were faring much better in Cassie's eyes than Sean's family were in his.

The waitress returned, drinks in hand, ready to take their orders. Carter successfully directed the focus of conversation to Sean and Cass, a good choice considering that the young couple was the real reason the behind this dinner.

_Go Carter._

As they waited for their food, Sam got the young couple to talk about their thesis projects and post-graduation plans. Jack knew that Cassie would be moving on to an internship at a local news station, and it turned out Sean had solid plans too.

The young man had a job at a family portrait studio, but also hand landed some freelance gigs for the city newspaper. The kid seemed ambitious. At the very least, Sean was not much of a goofball twenty-something, and Jack couldn't call him a bum.

_Shoot._

Jack was thankful that even after the food arrived, good ol' Barb was noticeably subdued, and the awkwardness that punctuated the earlier part of the dinner was less palpable. She and Michael told some interesting tales about dealing with wild animals at their veterinary clinic, which, in turn, lead to questions about the professional lives of both Sam and Jack.

Carter was able to sate their curiosity about her career by describing the Chimera Hologram project, a cover the Stargate program had developed to prevent being exposed a few years back, and Sean's parents recalled seeing news stories about it. They seemed impressed and pressed for more information.

_Score 1 for Sam and her science talk._

Jack hoped that Sam's techno talk would be the end of the 'career curiosity' part of dinner, but after a beat, Sean turned to face him and said, "Bet you must've done some cool stuff to become a General?"

_This could be fun._

Jack pulled his facial features into a steely scowl.

"You have no idea," he responded darkly, "It's mostly classified. And gruesome."

Barb and Mike's eyed widened. Sean gulped.

Gillian's eyes lit up, "Cool! Undercover stuff? Did you infiltrate Russia in the Cold War? Assassination stuff? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really kill JFK? What kind of stuff did you do?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. And if I did, I'd have to," Jack fixed his gaze on Sean, "kill you."

Sean's eyes grew wide and he shifted uncomfortably.

_Messing with this kid is too much fun._

Evidently Carter and Cassie thought so too. He felt a non-too swift kick under the table from the younger woman's direction. Sam put down her fork, batted his knee with one hand, and then quickly spoke to Sean.

"Most of what we both do is classified," she said gently, "But it is worthwhile work."

"Jack's just punking you," Cassie added, glaring at Jack, "He's not _that _sketchy."

Sean and Jack shared a long gaze, and Jack got the distinct impression he was being sized up.  
>He tried to maintain his stern expression, but he couldn't help it when the corners of his mouth twitched their way into a small smile. Sean pursed his lips, and smirked, glancing back at Cassie.<p>

"Right. Snarky, not sketchy."

_Fair enough, Sean-y-boy._

Jack's earlier apprehension completely evaporated and he leaned toward the young man, questioning, "So Sean, you a hockey man?"

"Not really, I prefer golf."

_I can work with that._

"You fish?"

The young man chucked, "No way, I get sick almost every time I'm in a boat!"

_Wrong answer._

The remainder of the dinner past pleasantly, and by the time Jack and Sam made it home, he could confidently say that he didn't *not* like the Carlton's. Didn't quite like them either. Maybe they were too ordinary. Perhaps in all his years of strange and crazy adventures, Jack had lost the ability to mingle with regular people. That or he just wanted spend the whole weekend with Sam.

_Well, that's one way to spend an evening. Don't know why I was worried._

Jack thought of the passionate welcome he and Sam shared upon his arrival in Colorado Springs the previous night.

_Could think of quite a few 'better' ways to spend an evening. With Carter. Alone._

This was his last weekend visit before the _Hammond_launched. He didn't yet know exactly what kind of mission General Vidrine would send the ship out on, but he figured they imminently faced about 2 months of separation. Minimum.

Assuming, of course nothing went wrong. Commanders of Earth vessels didn't necessarily have the best shelf life. Look at Pendergast. Chekov. Emerson.

_Don't go there, Jack._

And there could be no more nightly phone chats either. God, how had they survived without them for a whole year for Atlantis? They'd emailed each other much more then. Now Jack couldn't imagine not hearing Sam's voice every night. Maybe they'd gotten used to it.

_Guess we'll get used to it again._

Jack sighed. If he and Sam had been planning the perfect 'last weekend', Jack doubted they'd have spent it in the Springs. Maybe a nice trip up to the cabin, just the two of them. No time commitments. No worrying about other people. No squeezing personal time in, between banquets, receptions, or dinners. Plenty of time to really get lost in each other's bodies.

_And a little time to fish too._

But scheduling hadn't been on their side. His last chance visit was the same time as graduation. Cassie needed them this weekend, and Jack knew that nothing, short of physical incapacitation (and Carter might of think a way out of that), could stop himself or Sam from being there with her.

Like tonight.

The parents seemed pleasant enough, even if Barb was a little bit of a busybody. Sean wasn't very talkative but that could have simply been nervousness. The guy, as best Jack could figure, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, seemed nice enough. And he obviously did care for Cassie.

Still, out of all of them, if he had to pick, Jack liked Gillian best.

"It isn't our job to like them, Jack," Carter said, as they stood in the bathroom preparing for bed, "There is nothing wrong with Sean."

She eyed his reflection in the bathroom mirror, her voice slightly obscured by toothpaste, "And whether or not _we_like him has absolutely no bearing on how Cassie feels about him."

"I-," Jack spat out a mouthful of Aquafresh, "I know that. You're right. I just want Cass to be happy..."

"I think she is right now."

_Good. And if Sean breaks her heart, I'll break him. Might be gruesome._

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday May 17, 2009<strong>  
>12:03 MDT<br>Colorado Springs

A cascade of graduation caps flew toward the sky and a loud cheer echoed throughout the large university stadium. Sam joined Jack and her former teammates as they stood up from their spot on a bleacher. They each clapped wildly, Cam adding a piercing wolf-whistle every few claps. The graduates themselves all looked rather stunned, and most turned to embrace those around them.

As they filed out of the bleachers, Sam could just make out Cassie's figure in the crowd. There, in the third row, she was leaning down to retrieve her cap. Cassandra had been through so much in her young life, and she'd weathered it well, with dignity and grace. Catching sight of the her, Sam felt her heart swell with pride. If it was possible to physically burst from an emotion, she'd be in tiny pieces right now.

Sam knew wasn't the only one who felt this way. During the ceremony, when the Dean of the University had announced Cass's name, and as she'd walked up to the podium to retrieve her diploma, Sam had looked around and discovered that she was not the only member of SG1 who was misty eyed.

Daniel beamed, eyes teary behind his glasses. Teal'c's usually stoic expression, was replaced by an uncharacteristically broad smile. And Jack...well, Jack was blinking furiously. When he caught her looking, he cleared his throat and used one hand to bat at his left eye.

"Just some dust," he sniffed, blinking some more, "You know."

She had simply nodded and laced her fingers together with his.

_Absolutely._

Now, the six of them stood on the lawn outside the stadium, each squinting into the crowd, trying to spot Cassie. All the new graduates wheeled around in black caps and gowns. They were all shouting, crying, and embracing friends and family. It was hard to differentiate the students from each other, and Daniel had pulled out his cell phone, planning to call Cassandra, when she suddenly burst from the crowd.

She threw her arms around Daniel and Vala, holding her cap in one hand, and brand new diploma in the other. Cassie laughed and lead the three person hug in a happy hopping circle.

"I did it! I did it! I did it!" she chanted as she turned to share a high five with Cam. Sam took a deep breath and started blinking back tears.

_Oh, boy. More water works._

"You have accomplished much, Cassandra Frasier," Teal'c stated as she turned to share an embrace with the Jaffa. Sam fished around in her bag for something to wipe her eyes.

As Cassie turned to Jack, he wrapped her is a tight hug, lifted her up and spun her around, the way he had when she was 10. When he put her down, Jack leaned forward and whispered something to Cass that made her laugh. She handed him her diploma and turned to face Sam.

They stared at each other for a long moment, time seemed to move slower, and any attempt Sam had made to stave off her tears was in vain. Cassie suddenly leaped toward Sam, pulling her into a tight hug, strangely reminiscent to a hug they'd shared 12 years previously in the basement of a nuclear facility. They both wept. Cassie clung to Sam for a long time, and Sam could hear Daniel's camera clicking away.

When the young woman seemed reluctant to let go, Sam spoke to her softly, sniffling as her own tears eased, "You alright, Cassie? You did it."

When the girl didn't let go, and seemed to cry harder, Sam rubbed her back soothingly, "I guess it's just a little surreal. We're so proud."

Cass shook her head wistfully in response, wiping her eyes with her graduation gown's billowing sleeves, "Yeah. I am happy...I just wonder what my parents would think, if they could see me now?"

Her voice wavered, "Or Mom?"

_She'd have made Cam's whistling sound muted._

"They would be _exceptionally _proud of you!" Sam said, sliding the girl to her side, leaving one arm draped over her shoulder.

When Cassandra's tears didn't stop, she whispered, "It's okay. I missed my Mom at graduation too."

"I'm really glad I have you, Sam," Cass wiped her eyes, and turned to the rest of the group, "All of you. You'll never know how glad..."

_You'll never know how happy we are to have you, either._

"Okay, enough mushy stuff," Vala said after they all had a watery moment, wrenching the camera from Daniel's hands, "Let's take pictures! Daniel! General! Teal'c! Stand closer. Put your arms 'round."

Jack moved to Cassie's other side, wrapping his arm around her other shoulder. Teal'c moved behind him, and Daniel walked to Cass's other side and stood behind Sam.

"What is it they say before a photograph, Cameron?" Vala asked, as she awkwardly stared at the digital camera's view screen.

"Cheese."

"Yes, right. A dairy product. Why would you say that? How odd...oh well. Say cheese!"

They obliged, and, with the flash of a camera, a marathon photography session commenced. Each member of the group took a turn with the camera, and the poses became progressively more ridiculous as time went on. Jack jammed the graduation cap on Teal'c's head, and Cass and Cam posed as though they were reading her diploma upside down.

At that moment Sean, and a number of other graduates came up looking for Cassandra. SG1 cheerfully sent her off to get photo ops with her friends. Then the rest of the team went off in search of food, leaving Sam and Jack alone.

He took her hand and eyed the bustling crowd suspiciously gesturing at a screaming group of graduates to his left, "I am happy for Cass, don't get me wrong, but I'll be glad when all this graduation hoopla is over with. So...noisy."

Sam leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "I won't be."

"No?"

"When it's over, you have to leave."

"Ah."

This weekend had been better than Sam had expected. The graduation and all its related events had forced herself and Jack to be more publicly 'coupley' and domestic than they had ever really been, and Sam did enjoy that.

They usually jealously guarded their precious time together, (especially long stretches of leave) and planned to spend it alone in places like Jack's cabin, isolated from everyone. She liked that too, but Sam thought it was nice, this visit, to spend so much time with Cassie and the rest of the team.

The weekend felt normal rather than hurried, and Sam only wished it could last longer, simply to balance out some 'alone' time along with the social time.

Still, even when it was just Sam and Jack at the cabin, there simply was no way to squeeze enough sex into one weekend visit. Sam smiled sarcastically. Not that they hadn't tried. And it really wasn't _just _about sex.

Even without extra alone time, Sam was elated that Jack was actually here, with her. She relished the small things between them; just watching tv with him, arguing over who drives, eating together, really sleeping next to one another. Simply enjoying each other's company for the minutia of regular life. Sam didn't have to imagine his expressions, or appearance.

_Nothing can substitute the real thing._

"I like this," Sam replied squeezing Jack's hand, "Having you with me. Really seeing you and really touching you."

As soon as the words let her mouth, Sam realized that they sounded a bit different than she'd meant them too. Jack's eyebrows approached his hairline, and he started to snicker.

Rolling her eyes, Sam squeezed his hand again, "Not like that."

Remembering Jack's Friday night arrival, she blushed and amended her statement, "Well, like that and not like that. It's just nice to have you with me."

He grinned at her, "It's nice to be here."

Then his features softened, and his expression became downcast, "Soon, you're gonna be far far away. No gate bridge to come home quick...feels farther than Atlantis."

_Don't go into it thinking like that._

"Well actually," she said quietly, "In light years, I will be closer to Earth on the _Hammond _than I was on Atlantis. Unless for some reason we have to go to another galaxy, which is definitely possible...but most of the time, distance-wise, it'll be much clo-"

Jack cut her off, with a smile and a wave of his hand.

"Really gonna rationalize that distance? I mean we are talking _light years, _right? At some point it stops mattering, and just becomes 'too damn far'."

Sam ducked her head, "I'm just looking on the bright side."

_Trying to stay positive._

Jack's eyes shone as he smiled, "There's always a bright side, huh?"

"Always."

His hand moved to her face, and cupped her chin briefly. His thumb lingered on her cheek, and Sam was sure she felt sparks emanating from the point of contact. Jack shook his head and pulled her into a swift kiss.

"Carter, you never cease to amaze me."

* * *

><p><strong>Monday June 1, 2009<strong>  
>9:18 EDT<br>Homeworld Command

The atmosphere in the large Pentagon conference room was decidedly chilly. No one looked comfortable, and they all knew this meeting was going to be anything but fun. Jack grabbed the glass of water in front of him, glancing around the room before taking a long swig. He swiveled gently in his chair, taking a mental survey of those present at the hearing.

Carl Strom, sat directly across the table from Jack, surrounded by IOA representatives from every country that had personnel on the Atlantis team. As usual, he looked smug. On Jack's side of the table sat General Vidrine, General Landry, General Owen Kirkland from Area 51, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

_How many General's does it take to change a light bulb?_

The far end of the table was populated by members of the Atlantis expedition. Woolsey, brow deeply furrowed, had the central seat. Jack knew the IOA had placed him in command of Atlantis, at the expense of Carter's command, in the hopes that he would uphold their interests. But now he wondered whether the man actually would side with the IOA.

To Woolsey's left sat Colonel Sheppard, his chin set determinedly, a stoic Teyla, and a scowling Ronon. On Woolsey's other side was an incredibly young looking woman Jack didn't recognize called Dr. Keller, and Dr. McKay. Between McKay and Ronon, Jack was hard pressed to say who looked angrier. The astrophysicist may not have been as intimidating as an angry Satedan, but his ears were such a shade of red that is was clear that he was equally furious.

At the head of the table sat President Henry Hayes, dark circles under his eyes making him look more deflated and tired than angry or passionate. One year into his second term, it seemed that stress was finally catching up with him. His hair was grayer, his cheeks were a bit more sunken, and he'd lost some of his jovial nature. Then again, Jack knew that in addition to dealing with the Ori, and intergalactic threats, Earth during the past 5 years hadn't exactly been a walk in the park in terms of economics, politics, or diplomacy.

_They should but a warning label on the oval office to scare candidates. "WARNING: Being leader of the proverbial free world is not all it's cracked up to be. Proceed with caution."_

But as much as Jack wasn't particularly fond of Henry Hayes, he was grudgingly impressed with how the man had handled many aspects of his presidency, especially as it related to the Stargate program.

Hayes sighed, and looked up from the papers in front of him, "Okay folks, let's just lay everything on the table, shall we?"

He nodded to Strom first.

"Well. There is no confusion as to why we are here. It is the position of the IOA, that the city of Atlantis should remain here, on earth, indefinitely. In fact, we would recommend that the city stay here permanently."

_Here we go._

Disgruntled murmurs erupted from Woolsey's end of the table, and Strom had to raise his usually even voice to continue, "Obviously, we would move Atlantis from it's current location, possibly further out in the Pacific ocean. From there, we would operate the city as earth's main line of defense. We would not operate the city's Stargate, thus allowing continued exploration through our Milky Way gate."

Landry looked slightly relieved at that last statement. At least Strom and the IOA's proposal left Cheyenne Mountain relatively unscathed.

Jack expected Woolsey or Shepard to be the first to object, but to his surprise it was Dr. McKay who angrily responded, "You can't do that! There is absolutely no way-"

Strom's eyes narrowed and he turned toward 'general row', Jack's side of the table.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but during this last attack, we lost our one best earth based line of defense, the ancient weapons platform."

Jack winced, and pursed his lips. That was a very unfortunate loss. He had actually been against the IOA's plan to move it from Antarctica. If they'd listened to him in the first place the damned thing wouldn't have been moved to Area 51, and, when the Wraith superhive attacked, it wouldn't have been there.

_Somehow now seems like the wrong time to say, 'I told you so'. Still...I did._

Area 51 was under General Kirkland's command, and at Strom's words the man looked both offended and apologetic, "We did our best to prevent that. Lost some of my best fighters..."

"And that is regrettable," Strom continued, "But I think it highlights the current inability of Earth based technology to provide adequate defense for the planet."

It was General Vidrine's turn to look mildly offended, "Mr. President, I assure you that the capabilities of the X-304 fleet are improving with each vessel and upgrade we develop. An X-304 is sufficiently capable of defending us from most attacks."

"Ah, but at the cost of billions of US dollars," Strom interrupted, "And if you recall, two X-304's, our most advanced vessels, were severely damaged by that Superhive. Also consider, that we can't depend on our space capable allies and there is no guarantee that the rest of our ships will be close enough to earth to defend us in a scenario where one vessel is not enough."

Vidrine scoffed, "We can hardly station all five of them in Earth's orbit all the time-"

The President muttered, "Maybe from now on we should have at least two."

Strom looked triumphant, "Yes, that might be prudent."

Vidrine opened his mouth to speak, but the IOA head beat him to it, holding his hands in front of him.

"I don't dispute the importance and value of the exploratory side of the X-304 mission, and would never dream of compromising that. Frankly, we can't afford to make them any faster, and even if we could, this most recent attack proves that the fleet cannot and should not be depended upon as our only line of defense. We need something powerful, and planet based. Atlantis is the perfect solution. We've got a global recession on our hands, Mr. President. Can we afford to let this readymade defense system go?"

Sheppard leaned forward and, in a carefully controlled voice that belied the intensity of the anger in his eyes, stated, "The Wraith aren't on the verge of attacking Earth every day. They are in the Pegasus Galaxy. You guys can handle many of the attacks you are most likely to experience. Most planets in the Pegasus can't do that. Without Atlantis, they will be culled."

"I'm sorry Colonel, but we have to consider Earth first," Strom gave Woolsey a pointed look, "I think everyone in the IOA agrees that that has to be the priority."

Dr. Keller cleared her throat, "If I may?"

The Mr. Preseident nodded, urging the young doctor to continue.

"Another aspect of our influence in the Pegusus has nothing to do with military alliances. We provide medical and humanitarian aid to a number of planets," she slid a report in the President's direction.

"I have data indicating that in this respect the expedition is doing a lot of good. Infant and childhood mortality is way down, and overall nutritional health is up. We have to consider the effects Atlantis's absence would have on these people."

Jack perused Dr. Keller's report as it was slid down the table toward Hayes. It was accurate and thorough. He was impressed. She had a valid point. Once, years ago, Jack might have agreed with the IOA on this issue. Keep the damn thing here. Use it to protect the planet.

But he'd spent enough time at the SGC with the likes of Daniel Jackson to know that there was much more to 'being out there', in the universe, than saving Earth's own ass. Morality did matter. Or, at least, it should be considered.

Just look at Teal'c and the Free Jaffa Nation. Ten years ago their freedom seemed an impossible dream. But with Tau'ri assistance and their own strength, the Jaffa had managed to overthrow the strongest force in the galaxy, the Goa'uld, both militarily and biologically. By and large their people were now happier, and healthier than they had ever been. Earth could be a positive influence in the Milky Way, and had the allies to prove it.

"At this time," Strom interrupted haltingly, "Earth has no way monetize any of the aid we provide to people of other worlds, humanitarian or not. Yes, sometimes we trade, and exchange technology and raw materials, but you all have to admit that we deal a lot with less advanced cultures, who can only offer us so much. And, with respect to those from the Pegasus who are present today, most of the cultures we have met in this galaxy are significantly less advanced than us."

_Superiority complex much?_

Jack's ears perked up at the way the IOA head had phrased this statement. Jack thought he might be up to something. Sounded like he wanted to monetize off-world activity sometime soon. Jack filed that suspicion away. Now was not the time or space to pursue that can of worms.

_Politics sucks. This is about Atlantis._

Hayes sighed, and looked to Jack, "General O'Neill, any thoughts?"

"Oh, I've always got thoughts, sir," he raised his eyebrows, a small smile briefly appearing on his lips, "I assume when you say 'any', you mean that you want to hear the ones I have about all this..."

That made most people in the conference room laugh a little, and the tension at the conference table eased somewhat.

Then, Jack's face became serious.

"I do understand that we need to defend ourselves, but I doubt these Wraiths are coming back, so I'm not sure Atlantis is the only viable solution to our defense problem. I also think that the Atlantis team has a point. Dr. Keller's data raises some interesting questions about what the point of our being," he waved his hand upward, "out there, actually is. If Atlantis doesn't return to the Pegasus, then we'd be leaving many planets, some who are our established allies, with no back up. I know this..."

He paused turning around the room slowly before continuing, "It wasn't so long ago that we were the 'less advanced' underdogs of this galaxy, facing some pretty big bad guys. I also know that we are sitting here today, in no small part, because some more advanced species like the the Tok'ra and the Asgard, decided to give us a hand, even when it messed up their security. Without them, I'm not sure where we'd be."

_Dead probably._

Truth be told, Jack felt he was being generous about the Tok'ra; he'd never fully trusted them as being so different from snakeheads, especially considering that the only reason they'd even made contact with them to begin with was because one of them stole Carter's body. The Tok'ra had at times been helpful (and infuriating), but he'd never forgive them for hurting her. As much as Sam had recovered and moved on from her brief time as host to a Tok'ra symbiote, Jack could tell it had had a huge effect on her.

If Charlie was a 'no-go' conversation area on his side of their little relationship, Jolinar was Sam's.

But, when it came to the Asgard, Jack was being honest. They had saved earth's butt too many times to count. By the end, Jack had considered Thor to be a personal friend, and he'd mourned the little guy's loss deeply.

_Miss those guys._

Strom rolled his eyes, "A lot of good helping us did for their respective civilizations. The Asgard committed mass suicide, and the Tok'ra are dying out."

Woolsey gave an uncharacteristically loud sigh and cocked his head to one side, "Their alliance with us does not have the correlation you are implying it does. The Asgard cloning problem meant that their civilization was on the decline long before they assisted us. And the circumstances that lead to the death of the Tok'ra queen were already in motion before we met them, Dr. Strom."

Strom and several IOA heads scowled in Woolsey's direction.

_You were expecting him to tow the company line, weren't you?_

Woosley faced the president and drew his body up to as full a height he could achieve sitting down, "Mr. President, Atlantis should return to the Pegasus Galaxy, and we should continue our mission."

The President frowned and nodded slowly, sliding his glass of water from side to side, catching it and changing direction just before any water could slosh out. After a few seconds of this, he grabbed the glass and took a slow drink. The glass then landed solidly back on the table and the President sighed. Somehow he looked even more tired than he did at the beginning of the meeting. Jack felt for the guy. No way everybody here would be satisfied with whatever choice Hayes made.

_We need a Presidential warning label. Seriously._

The rest room waited with baited breath, wondering just what Hayes would say.

"Dr. McKay," he said quietly, "Your report indicates that Atlantis's battle with the Wraith, and the city's subsequent entry into Earth's atmosphere caused significant damage to the power system."

McKay crossed his arms and looked a bit sullen, "Yes, and we have been working on that."

"It's fine," the President said in a placating tone, "I just want to know how long you think it will take to be in working order?"

"With just my team? Two or three more weeks. With additional help we can possibly half that."

"Alright, proceed with repairs. You can ask Generals Kirkland and Landry if they can spare some scientists. I also want a scientific team to evaluate the viability of developing Earth-based defense alternatives to both Atlantis and the weapons platform. When repairs are complete, we will reconvene. Taking all of the information presented here into account, I will make the decision at that time."

Strom looked mad, "But, we can't wait. An attack could happen at any time, we need to be prepared-"

The president shut him down, "The Wraith attack was unprecedented and we have no reason to believe that anymore Wraith will be coming to the Milky Way in the near future. Otherwise, I think we can all agree that, since the defeat of the Ori, things here have been quiet. Should a situation arise, we will, as always, make the best of it."

Hayes gave Jack a strange look, "And I know for a fact we have another X-304 heading out today, so it isn't as though we'd be defenseless."

Jack felt his eyes dart downward under the president's scrutiny. Hayes seemed to understand more about Jack than he was comfortable with the other man knowing. He seemed to have an inkling of how much Sam mattered to Jack, and that make him feel uneasy.

Not that he and Carter were doing anything wrong in their relationship. Technically, she was currently under Vidrine's command in the X-304 branch of the Stargate program, and their whole 'thing' had started after they were in different chains of command.

Still, Jack worried that even the appearance of impropriety could cause damage. He didn't worry for his own career's sake; that was no big deal at all. He wanted nothing to go wrong for Carter. He wanted _everything _for her. Jack knew how badly she had initially taken the whole Atlantis snafu, and he would hate to be the cause of something else like that.

_One of these days I'm gonna retire. This gig's got too much paperwork anyway._

Hayes continued, "We did survive a war with the Goa'uld for 7 years without the ancient weapons platform, so I think we can manage for a few more weeks at least."

* * *

><p>14:20 OST (Official Shipboard Time)<br>USS Hammond

"Delta Control room to the _Hammond_," Colonel Reynolds grinning face appeared on the main view screen of the ship's bridge, "You have a go for launch."

"Acknowledged," Sam took a deep breath, exhaling through her mouth to control her rising anticipation.

_Colonel's aren't allowed to hyperventilate. At least, not on the first day. Not on the bridge in front of the crew._

She tapped her earpiece, "Bridge to engine team and lower decks. We have a go. What's your status?"

Luckily, her voice sounded much more calm and collected than she actually felt.

"We're all ready to go down here, Ma'am," Colonel Swift's voice also sounded much more collected than Sam imagined he really felt.

_Fake it till you make it._

"Excellent," she said, flexing her fingers on the arm rests of the command chair, "Alright Major Marks, take us up. When we exit the upper atmosphere, put us into a low orbit."

"Yes, Ma'am," Marks nodded, hands flicking around his console expertly, like a pianist playing an old familiar tune. Sam suspected that for him, operating a ship like the _Hammond_really was old hat by now. He was one for the few people on board who Sam already knew, at least a little. Sam had worked with Marks sporadically on X-304's over the years, and in that time he'd prove himself to be a very professional and valuable crew member.

A few more taps from Mark's console and the massive X-304 slowly rose out of its hanger and into the sky. Mark's expert piloting guided them swiftly into space, and settled the _Hammond _into orbit. As the small planet became visible, everyone on the bridge seemed transfixed.

A low whistle from Captain Dave Kleinman's station, opposite Marks's, pulled them from their silent observations. Marks glanced at the other officer, the gaze lingering a bit before he turned his attention back to his station.

"What?" Kleinman asked grinning. He gestured toward the planet's image on the viewscreen, "It's awesome!"

Marks sighed and looked a little bemused, "I don't dispute that, Captain. But looking at you, you'd think it was the most beautiful thing ever. I think planets with more surface water are actually better looking from orbit."

"Oh come on, sir! You can't tell me you've let this whole 'being on a space ship thing' get old," Kleinman said.

The Captain had a fair amount of X-304 experience too. He'd been a bridge officer in charge of navigation on the _Daedalus. _It looked like Kleinman and Marks had had a fair amount of experience with each other too.

_Looks like they've had this conversation before._

Sam remained silent, for the moment forgotten by the other bridge officers, allowing them to bond a little, and taking the moment for herself to observe and learn a little bit about some of her crew. Towards the front of the bridge, at the transporter station, a wide eyed young First Lieutenant, Erica Martinez also listened intently. The lanky young woman reminded Sam a lot of herself back when she had first gotten involved with the Stargate program.

_Hard to believe I was ever that young._

"I never said it's gotten old, I have just become more discerning in my admiration of astronomical beauty," Marks responded, looking back to Kleinman.

"Right. Sophisticated space pallet."

Marks smirked.

Kleinman noticed Martinez's naively excited gaze and smiled at her. He leaned forward, "First time in space Martinez?"

"Yes sir," she answered breathlessly.

"Nice," he nodded approvingly and continued, "This will never get old for me. Never. I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. This is living the dream. Everyday I'm out here is the best day of my life."

Sam understood that. She'd dreamed of NASA too. As fantastic as traveling to other planets via Stargate was, her original dream had always been to go into outer space. And part of the reason she'd been willing to take command of the _Hammond, _willing to leave earth, and even Jack (however temporarily) was because of the lure of actually traveling through space on a regular basis, without using a wormhole.

Martinez and Marks both nodded firmly when Kleinman's eyes grew wide and he added, "Just don't tell my wife I said that."

Sam chuckled a little, and the noise seemed to remind the other three crew members of her presence. They all swiveled their chairs in her direction, looking like guilty children caught with their hands in a cookie jar.

Marks recovered first, "Sorry Ma'am. We'll cut the chit chat."

Sam lowered her brow, "I don't need you guys to be silent per say. We need to get to know each other to work well as a team together. Just don't get distracted. Especially not when it counts."

She shifted her eyes to Kleinman, "You could just tell your wife it's the best moment of your professional life."

He pursed his lips, "But Colonel, that might not be entirely honest."

"Leave the rest to her imagination." Marks, Martinez, and Kleinman all laughed, and Sam smiled.

"Alright everyone," she continued reigning them all back to to the task at hand, "Let's get this mission started. Captain Kleinman, plot a course to the Horsehead Nebula in the Orion sector."

"On it, Ma'am," Kleinman said, wiggling the fingers of both hands before lowering them to his console, "Nice little nebula. Easy little science mission."

"Better than Pegasus runs," Marks added, as the screen in front of him beeped as the information transferred from Kleinman's computer, "Ever had a run in with the Wraith, Martinez?"

"Um, no sir," the Lieutenant murmured apprehensively.

"Be glad we're not on a Pegasus mission."

The younger officer nodded solemnly.

Sam vividly remembered her first meeting with Todd in a holding cell in Atlantis. And the Wraith's more recent attack on earth. This mission had to be easier than a Pegasus run. Go to the nebula, collect samples, observe, and analyze. Simple scientific mission. She saw the wisdom in Vidrine's choice of orders, because this mission would allow the _Hammond's _crew to become accustomed to each other.

_Piece of cake mission. Interesting one too. What could go wrong?_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
><strong>Stormy Weather: "Since my love and I ain't together, I'm weary all the time"<strong>  
><strong>June 10, 2009<strong>  
>22:13 OST<br>USS Hammond

Sam sighed and blew a loose strand of hair away from the side of her face as she surveyed various boxes and the generally organized chaos that was her office on the _Hammond._Her desk was piled with departmental reports, scientific analyses, two touchpads, and a laptop. All around her were boxes, most of which she had yet to open, let alone empty.

In the ten days since the _Hammond_'s launch, Sam had been so busy that she'd still hadn't managed to really unpack. She didn't use her office much, far less on the _Hammond_than she had on Atlantis, so setting it up was low on her list of priorities. Her quarters were a little bit better than her office, but if an outside observer where looking at both spaces, they'd probably say that Sam had not yet moved in.

Sam regretted thinking there was such thing as an easy, quick mission. Ten years on SG1 should have been sufficient to prove that this was never true, but sometimes she still found herself surprised by the infinite number of snags any given mission could run into.

_When have things ever been easy?_

The ship's initial journey to study the Horsehead Nebula had been interrupted by an interesting ion storm, a research opportunity that was too good to pass up.

"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Ma'am," Dr. Aguda had pleaded, hands held before him with fingers splayed, when the storm first appeared on the sensors. Sam acquiesced because of course scientifically it was, and they could hardly loose the chance to study the phenomena up close.

Subsequent examination of the storm had revealed a kink in the _Hammond's _debris collection systems, which necessitated organizing a space walking team to repair. Sam was always a little tense during space walks, and since this was her crew, under her command, she had been more than a little nervous, at least internally. Luckily the repair went off without a hitch, and the ship had proceeded to their original destination.

Upon arrival, they had sent a probe toward the nebula, but it initially ran into trouble transmitting data. The problem turned out to be caused by an unusual magnetic field, which the probe team were able to compensate for, and eventually receive data transmission from the Horsehead. The scientists on her ship, and the scientist in Sam herself, were happily speculating why a magnetic field of that type existed near the nebula first place and whether it could be harnessed for power. Now things had calmed down.

_Finally, I can unpack._

The first box was quick and easy. Half scientific reference books, and the other half the rest of her photos. She quickly placed them on the set of shelves that lined the wall next to her desk. Sam didn't really know why, but she liked to take photos of her friends and family with her whenever possible. It was kind of fortifying. It gave her strength to see their faces, and to at least have their images close by, even when they were light years away. When she packed for this tour, she'd brought a particularly impressive picture of General Hammond, which she placed prominently on her shelves.

As Sam opened the second box she had to laugh, because it appeared that her old team, and Jack had infiltrated the packing. It seemed that each had snuck in a gift for her.

Cam's gift was simple, a box of Chips Ahoy cookies, with a post-it note that said:

'Don't Worry. I didn't bake them. -C'.

_Sweet! No Macaroons!_

Teal'c's gift was a neatly wrapped CD of Bach Cello suites. No note required.

A smile ghosted her lips Sam slipped the disk into her laptop. She sighed and leaned back, letting herself get lost in the music. She could never know what SG1 exactly experienced during their 50 years trapped aboard the Odyssey. And poor Teal'c never told them anything. But since his return from the ship, Sam sometimes felt that Teal'c knew her better than she knew herself.

As the music played on she moved on the a frilly pink gift bag that could only have come from Vala. She pulled out the note and began to read:

'Darling,

I know you won't admit it to us, but you're probably going to be missing "you-know-who" rather a lot. A certain General. Yes, your boyfriend. No cozy evening chats or weekend visits and such in outer space. You're bound to be a bit, well, frustrated, so here is the next best (battery-operated) thing!  
>- Vala<p>

P.S. Despite what box we snuck these into, best not keep this gift in the office, eh?'

_Oh my God! She wouldn't._

Sam's eyes widened and needlessly scanned the empty office around her, before peering into the bags contents. She flushed as she discovered that Vala would and did give Sam a vibrator as a going away gift.

_Sometimes I wonder about her._

Sam swallowed and hurriedly folded down the top of the bag before stuffing it under her desk chair, to make sure she'd remember to take it with her when she returned to her quarters. She thanked her lucky stars that she'd declined the earnest offers to help unpacking she'd received from Colonel Swift and Lieutenant Martinez. She might possibly have disintegrated with embarrassment if either of them had inadvertently discovered this particular gift. The thought actually made her shutter.

Daniel's gift was far less embarrassing. He'd given Sam the dvd sets of two of her favorite old musicals, _The Music Man _and _The King and I_.

In all honesty, movies like this could be her guilty pleasure, though being friends with the men of SG1 meant that she rarely got to watch them. Usually Teal'c's choice of film prevailed on team movie nights.

_That's why we've seen Star Wars too many times to count._

Daniel's note was simple, and Sam lingered on his familiar and nearly illegible handwriting:

'If ya got trouble, up there on the _Hammond, _just hold your head erect, whistle a happy tune, and no one will suspect you're afraid. Or so they say, if you believe in musicals. Besides, you don't need to be afraid. You are amazing, and you'll do well in command.

We all love you,  
>Daniel'<p>

Sam deliberately left Jack's gift for last. She pulled the simple brown paper bag from the bottom of the box and shook it slightly so its contents spilled out on to her desk. It was like a goody bag. A rubix cube, a yoyo, a little plastic soldier with a parachute launcher, a metal slinky, and a wind up cat all clattered to the surface of her desk. Last of all, a folded piece of yellow legal pad paper fell from the bag,

Sam laughed and wound up the little cat, letting it dance across the edge of her desk before she unfolded the note. It was brief, but Sam poured over every word:

'Office must haves. Paperwork sucks. The parachute guy is cool.  
>Stay safe and come back,<br>-Jack'

Sam knew the unwritten addendum to the note would be "Stay safe, and come back _to me"._

As she moved to trace his hand writing with her fingers, Sam noticed something strange out of the corner of her eye. The cat toy that had been winding its way across her desk was now hovering several centimeters above its surface.

_Okay. That's not supposed to happen._

It took her mind a few seconds to catch up, but Sam suddenly realized that everything not bolted down in her office, including herself, was strangely floating. Not entirely weightless, but definitely not influenced by the ship's supposedly standard gravity.

Before her mind could fully process what was happening around her, the _Hammond_, lurched to one side violently, taking Sam along with it. Her face smacked the edge of the desk, and she saw stars.

Sam tapped her ear piece and shouted, "Bridge, report!"

No response.

"Colonel Swift, what's happening?"

Still no response.

The ship rocked again, sending Sam's head back into her desk, this time splitting her lip. Wiping blood, she clumsily moved to the door, awkwardly floating in the altered gravity.

_What the hell?_

"Colonel Carter to anybody?"

She hurried towards the bridge, pushing off from her door way, and moving from wall to wall.

When she reached the bridge she found Marks, Kleinman, and Martinez frantically manning their stations, each contorted into a strange position as they worked hard to remain still in the low gravity. She glanced at the view screen, surveying the situation, and calculated her options. Only one ship was firing at them. Sam figured the old Goa'uld vessel had to belong to the Lucian Alliance. Their best bet would be to get out of this fight as soon as possible.

_We need an exit strategy._

"Report, guys?"

"Ma'am!" Martinez exclaimed, "Thank god you're here!"

The wide eyed Lieutenant had never looked so young in Sam's eyes.

"They just dropped out of hyperspace and started shooting at us!" Marks said, looking unusually rattled, "No response to our hails. And I don't know they did it, but most of our systems are all messed up."

"Ya think?" Sam said as she doggedly propelled her self from the doorway to her own station, and began immediately typing commands to help with the shields.

"It's not just internal gravity, Colonel," Marks continued counting down issues on his fingers, "Communications are down, weapons are sluggish, Kleinman's had to constantly rotate our shield frequency to keep us from breaking up, and the inertial dampeners are definitely compromised-"

As though fate cruelly wanted to illustrate that last statement, the ship again rocked violently, sending Mark's flying from his station and squarely into the wall. His limbs and head hung eerily, and his unconscious body slid back and forth in mid-air as the attack continued. He was out cold, and Sam felt bad but neither she, nor Martinez or Kleinman could take a moment to tend to him.

_Not if we want the ship to survive. _

"Lieutenant take over the pilot seat," Sam shouted, even as Martinez was already pulling herself into Marks's chair.

Kleinman seemed to be struggling to stay one step ahead of their adversary as he manually rotated shield frequency. Sweat dripped from his brow and his breathing was ragged.

"Kleinman, I rigged a program that will auto scramble our shield harmonics, okay?" Sam said quickly, "I want you to transfer the shield control to my station and then target their shield generators and hyperdrive with the rail-guns. Fire on my command."

She turned to Martinez. The young soldier was more than overwhelmed, so Sam kept her voice as calm as possible, "Lieutenant, I need you to do everything I say exactly when I say it. No hesitation. No fear. Trust me, you can do this. Head directly for the enemy vessel, maximum thrusters."

"Yes, Ma'am." The ship plunged forward.

Sam kept her eyes fixed on the enemy vessel, mentally calculating the distance between their ships. _Just a little closer. A little closer. Okay, there._

"Fire a 4 missile burst!"

Kleinman didn't need to be told twice and Sam watched as one, two, three, and four shots headed out into space. The _Hammond _continued to head straight for the other ship, which was now taking up a frighteningly large amount of their viewscreen. She watched, waiting until just the right moment of weapons impact. _Right now!_

"Martinuez. Nosedive! Now. Take us down!"

The ship lunged as the Lieutenant pulled the ship into a steep decent. At least from their perspective, Sam thought, considering there was no real up or down in space. Without the intertial dampeners, the ride was almost sickening, and Sam imagined that the people on the rest of the vessel might be afraid that they'd taken a devastating hit. Without comms there was no way of telling them it was part of Sam's plan.

_Oh well._

Clinging to the edge of her seat, when the angle of the ship seemed sufficient, Sam shouted, "Hyperspace, now!"

She closed her eyes and hoped that their weapons burst and sudden dropping act had distracted and disabled their attackers enough to let them jump into hyperspace and get away. She relaxed somewhat when the ship settled into a calm hyperjump. Gravity seemed to return to normal too.

"Signs of pursuit?" Sam asked urgently.

Kleinman scanned his consul and breathed a sigh of relief, "No Ma'am. We got away."

"Good. Nice work people," Sam nodded, "Set our hyperspace course for Delta Site. We'll need some repairs."

Martinuez breathed an audible sigh of relief and Sam clapped the young officer on the shoulder, quickly making her way to the injured Major Marks. He now lay sprawled out on the floor. She was just checking his pulse when the bridge doors opened. Colonel Swift and Dr. Laura Tinder burst in, along with a few soldiers from below decks and a few medical assistants.

"What the hell just happened?" Colonel Swift exclaimed.

"I don't know exactly," Sam answered, shaking her head, "but I think its safe to say that the Lucian Alliance isn't so happy we're out here. From now on,we have to be extra vigilant. Doctor, Major Marks needs medical attention."

The medical team moved toward Marks. Colonel Swift shook his head in disbelief and began flicking through data on the attack at the weapons consul, and Sam moved to join him before she felt a hand on her arm. It was Dr. Tinder.

"Now Ma'am, you are in need of medical attention too."

"What?"

_No I'm not._

"You're bleeding. I'd say you might even need a stitch or two."

The doctor lifted Sam's chin and prodded at her lower lip. Pain exploded through Sam's skin and jaw and she pulled her head back with a small grunt.

_Oh, that. Damn._

Sam vowed to investigate this attack thoroughly and planned to start as soon as she got away from the infirmary with the stitches.

Sam was angry. She was royally pissed. Someone had attacked_ her ship._ Endangered _her crew. _She was determined to find out how they did it. And why. Because this attack had made Sam confront some disconcerting truths. For all the advanced systems, and fabulous crew the _Hammond_had, in many ways it was still a very small tin can in a vast space. Even with all that technology, the crew's lives rested on a fragile balance of luck and skill. Anything could happen to them.

_I have to keep my crew safe._

* * *

><p><strong>June 25, 2009<strong>  
>13:15 EST<br>Washington DC

Jack stood next to his favorite hot dog stand in DC. It wasn't every day that he was able to get out and away from the Pentagon for lunch, so he relished the time outside. He could get a hot dog, relax for a few minutes on a bench and take a moment to pause and straighten out his jumbled thoughts. Things with the IOA, hell the whole Stargate program, seemed like they were spinning out of control lately.

_Hell of a week. Scratch that. It's been a hell of a month._

When he got right down to it, Jack figured it was safe to say that it had really been a hell of a decade. Currently, everyone in the IOA and Homeworld command was still on edge about the uncertain fate of Atlantis, as the repairs to the city took longer than planned, delaying the decision about its future. Strom and his IOA cronies were still acting odd, and strategically leaving Jack and the military out of a lot of their planning. Senator Armstrong's stupid video game project, _Prometheus, _was well underway, and apparently pretty popular on the so called 'online gaming scene'.

_Those folks should get up and do something with their lives._

Jack took his hot dog, paid, and thanked the vendor, before making his way to a nearby bench and sitting down. His thoughts and mood were actually mostly occupied with worrying about Sam, up there, wherever, in space aboard the _Hammond_. The ship had been attacked three times since it's launch and had had to return to dry dock once already. Sam had been injured in the first attack, though to hear her tell it, the injury was just a scratch.

Maybe it was, but it all still made Jack anxious. He knew it was her job, and he knew that she loved commanding that ship. Knowing didn't make him feel any better. Anything could happen to her, and Jack would be down here on earth, absolutelypowerless to help, and probably unaware that anything gone a wry. Sam could be dead for days before anyone on earth knew about it.

_She can take care of herself, Jack. You know that. _

Jack did know full well that Carter was as capable, hell more capable, than just about anyone. Years of working together on the same team had taught him that. It didn't stop him from worrying though. Maybe he was just getting old. Jack just didn't want to lose Carter, not after all they'd gone through to be together. He'd never tell her any of this, because he knew that she really did love her job, and he was determined that Sam should have the best in her career. He wanted her to live up to her fullest potential. Even if it scared the crap out of Jack.

_I don't know what I'd do if I lost her._

Jack shook off the thought, and took a big bite of his hot dog. Cass and Sam would both have his butt if they knew he was eating this. The thought made Jack smile a little, before he took another bite. Them and their, "eat healthy, and live longer" kick. Jack thought life had taught him that everything was too short and too fragile not to enjoy a hot dog or two. And maybe Sam and Cassie had a point, but it wasn't like they'd find out about his hot dog eating habits.

_What they don't know, won't hurt them. Or make them mad and make them hurt me._

Jack was staring out at the park view when he noticed a figure walking toward him out of the corner of his eye. He glanced that direction and was surprised to see that it was Dr. Rush headed down the path toward him.

_Maybe he is just out for a walk too._

When the severe looking scientist stopped and stood right in front of Jack's bench, he knew that he was wrong. The other man had come here with a purpose, and Jack wondered what it could be.

_Probably more IOA political crap. I just wanted to eat in peace._

"Dr. Rush," he said in cautious greeting.

"General."

"Fancy meeting you here."

"May I sit down?"

Jack eyed the place next to him and took a bite of his hot dog. "This is my lunch break, Rush. So, you better have a good reason for interrupting."

The scientist seemed to take this as a yes, because he sat down next to Jack. He stared out at the park too, crossing his arms.

"I think I do have a good reason, General. I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition, you say? What are you talking about?"

"The _Prometheus_game."

"I know I'm not playing it. Are you?"

Rush let out a small laugh, "Of course not. I think it is just as bad for the program as you do. But, unfortunately it seems that the IOA doesn't care for our opinions on the subject."

_Right. More IOA political crap. Just what I need._

Jack remained silent and continued staring out at the park. Rush did have a point. Both he and General Vidrine had opposed putting so much information, even thinly veiled, out into the public space. The television show _Wormhole Xtreme_ allowed the program to maintain plausible deniability if there was a security breach, but it's information content was largely fluff. _Prometheus _on the other hand, contained potentially recognizable mathematical information, which might be more damning in a potential leak. Plus it rested a huge weight of responsibility on an under-prepared, ordinary person. The 'winner' of the game would be asked to join the program and to solve the Icarus 9th chevron math problem.

Every other scientist brought into the program had been specifically picked, and carefully trained for their roles. Both Jack, and Vidrine, various generals, and several scientists, including Rush had protested using the game, but it seemed that the IOA had the president's ear on the matter. Each protest had been overruled, and the whole thing made Jack feel uneasy, so he decided to listen to Rush's piece.

"You know, General," Rush began, "Dr. Jackson recruited me into this program."

_So?_

Jack pursed his lips but still said nothing. Rush didn't seem to notice as he continued to talk.

"I was reluctant to join actually. In part because I didn't trust the American military." The scientist took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, "Truth be told, I still don't."

_Well isn't that surprising._

"But I was convinced that Dr. Jackson trusted you. I trust him. Scientist to scientist. I believe what he told me. That after years of working together with you, he believed in the decisions you made. That you could make them for greater good, beyond your military orders. Which is why I think, in relation to this _Prometheus_problem, we should work together."

Jack turned to look at Rush more closely. He raised a skeptical brow. "Oh yeah? Why?"

"Those monitoring the game progress have a reasonable idea of who the front runners could be. To date the most advanced player, the one who is closet to completing the game, and who will likely solve the puzzle? A college drop out," Rush snorted, "When he solves it, the IOA will take this young man, and bend him to their agenda before he even has time to comprehend the gravity of his circumstances. I propose that we beat them to it. Whoever wins should meet us first. Me and you."

_Oh, boy._

Jack winced a little and snidely added, "You're suggesting we 'bend him to our will' first. Because we both hate the IOA? That's too simple."

Rush gave Jack a humorless tight lipped smile and tilted his head. Jack knew that there was something more to this. Something more personal.

"You want to meet him; to 'bend' him. But, my guess is that the IOA are going to want to set him up and reel him in with someone more official than you. Strom, even our fine Senetor, maybe. Or a General. To meet him first, you need me. You are afraid the winner will be smarter than you. So, you want to get him under your wing before you work with him because your afraid. He'll have solved something you couldn't, and you need me to help you get to him."

"Perhaps." The scientist responded evenly.

Jack exhaled and shook his head. Rush was a nervy guy, Jack had to give him that.

"I think you might find the idea to be mutually beneficial. If we both took an interest, and helped him navigate entry into the program, the winner would be brought under the wing of the military as well."

_Devious schemer has a point._

Jack breathed evenly, biting the inside of his cheeks. Rush may not be entirely trustworthy, but he definitely had a valid argument. Whomever did win this little video game could potentially become a sort of pawn for the IOA and certain members of congress. If they really did have any potential, they'd probably end up having a hard time overcoming the label. If they had any chance of working well and contributing to the program on their own terms, without the IOA meddling and the reputation of being the game winner, this person would need connections with various other parts of the program. Getting them out of the grip of the IOA early would be the best bet. As much as Jack hated it, it might be the right political move.

_Politics really blows. This gives me a bad feeling._

"Will you do it?" Rush's voice interrupted Jack's thoughts.

_Damn it._

"Alright," Jack said finally. "I'll meet the winner with you. We'll work together on this. I'll do it."

Rush nodded curtly in response, before rising to leave.

"I don't think you'll regret it."

_Oh no? I already do._

"I'll leave you to your lunch then."

Jack nodded and watched the scientists retreating figure. He sighed and looked down at his food, before setting his wrapped hot dog on the bench beside him. Somehow he wasn't so hungry anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>July 28, 2009<strong>  
>11:01 OST<br>USS Hammond

Sam sat at the head of a table in the conference room aboard the _Hammond_. They were on a supply and transport run to Icarus base, their 3rd in as many weeks. The scientists were getting a bit restless. Icarus runs took time away from the _Hammond's_scientific and exploratory mission, but as a Colonel, Sam understood the military need for this mission as well. It also gave them a bit of a break from near constant attacks from the Lucian Alliance.

For some, as yet unknown reason, the alliance attacked the ship almost anytime they stopped anywhere to do any research, with a devastating ability to scramble the _Hammond's _systems. Luckily they hadn't lost any crew members, but Sam was endlessly bothered by the way their attackers seemed to get into their systems, no matter what changes the computer team made.

The problem was constantly on her mind, and it did show her a reason not to enjoy command. Before being in charge, Sam would have spent all her time locked up in a lab trying to find a solution, or a better way to shore up their defenses. A part of her itched to do that right now. She'd rather do that than sit in a meeting, even if the meeting was important.

In a matter of minutes she would be speaking with two of her best scientists, hopefully to placate them a little about doing so many non-scientific missions. The shipboard dynamics between nonmilitary and military personnel were becoming a little strained. Nothing Sam felt she couldn't handle. This was way easier in the civilian to soldier ratio than Atlantis.

And elsewhere, a team of her crew members were locked up in their labs working on their Lucian Alliance problem. Which they were easily capable of doing, without her constant participation.

_I have to trust my people to do their jobs. Easier said than done._

Sam's upcoming meeting was with a couple of scientists, who Sam suspected were a little sore at having their experiment timeline's pushed out because of the Icarus mission. Hopefully, she could placate them easily enough, and get back to working with her people to create a fool proof defense against the Lucian Alliance. Sam drummed her fingers on her desk, and glanced at her watch. She was expecting Dr. Karen Foote from nano technology, and Dr. Aguda. She didn't know Dr. Foote too well, but Sam thought it was very uncharacteristic of Aguda to be late, or dissatisfied with the ship's mission.

_Then again, everyone has their limit._

Finally the conference room doors hissed open and the two scientists slipped in. As they took their seats, Sam was reminded of going to the principal's office as a child. _Only now I'm the principal. _Not exactly the relationship with her scientists she really wanted to foster.

Dr. Aguda in particular looked exceptionally uncomfortable. He flashed Sam an apologetic smile, which Sam easily returned. Dr. Foote however, looked anything but sympathetic. The elegant British scientist sat directly across from Sam and glared, jaw set and fists clenched.

_Here we go._

"Okay, people," Sam said breaking the tension in the room, "I think I have a pretty good idea of why you wanted to meet with me. Let me just start by saying that I do understand your concerns. However, I would remind you that this is still an Air Force Military vessel, and we are still subject to do our duty in assisting the fleet as needed."

_And in all honesty, I doubt there would even be a meeting with you like this if we were on another vessel. Be grateful for small blessings, scientists._

"Yes, Ma'am," Dr. Aguda jumped in, "_I_would like to suggest perhaps doing some collaborative experiments with Icarus science teams. If it would be possible, that is. This way, we can make the most of this situation."

Sam nodded placing her hands in front of her with a faint smile. Aguda was a good scientist, and it didn't surprise her that he would seek some sort of consensus, and to look for opportunity rather than hindrance. In the short time she'd known him, Aguda had proven to be a loyal and optimistic crewmember. Sam liked the way he meshed with the science team and the rest of the crew, and frankly it was a relief to see that his purpose in this meeting was in keeping with the rest of his character.

"That's a good idea, Dr. Aguda. I can certainly look into that," Sam said brightly.

Before she could continue and further, however, Dr. Foote let out a rush of breath in an angry huff.

_Well, not everyone is willing to be flexible._

"Colonel," the steely scientist began, "It seems as though all the resources of the program are being wasted on studying Icarus planets, and ninth chevrons. We don't even have an outpost for research in the Pegasus Galaxy anymore. Most of the universe remains unexplored. Unstudied. And here we have the US military guiding our research questions?"

Sam's curiosity was piqued. She didn't know Dr. Foote very well, but the woman's scientific background and previous record was exemplary. And each of the previous meetings Sam had had with Foote had never given her a clear idea of the scientist's personal beliefs. She raised her eyebrows skeptically, "This is a military vessel, part of a military program. You knew what you were getting into when you got on board.."

Foote huffed again, "I did, yes. But I joined because it was the only way to really be out here. The military has a monopoly on the Stargate Project, which really is the only meaningful way to do any work related to outer space. What else can a scientist of my caliber do? Work for NASA? Not bloody likely, now that we know what's out here."

_Someone's confident. Well, points for being honest. But have you heard of the IOA? They call the shots at least as much as the military these days._

Sam pursed her lips and sighed, "It's not that simple. The _Hammond_is a military vessel, even if scientific research is part of our mission. We also have duty and a responsibility to protect earth in whatever way we are asked..."

"Protect earth, or protect earth's interests? We are trying to be the dominant power in the Milky Way, are we not? Although, who's to say whether we should be. No matter. And so the military is limiting the direction scientific inquiry in order to achieve that goal. Dictating what can and can't be studied. Which means my research is curtailed. It's extremely frustrating."

_Neither of us are in a position to make a call on any of that._

"I think that this isn't really a conversation that you should bring to this venue. I'm here to hear your concerns so that we can all work for a reasonable solution, together," Sam said through tight lips.

"Within your military orders?" Foote grumbled.

"Within the ships orders, yes. Make no mistake," Sam answered, lowering her voice, and trying to keep the edge in her voice from becoming a snarl. "There would be no _Hammond_, no program, and no earth if it wasn't for the Air Force."

Dr. Aguda held up his hands, seemingly to placate a situation that was becoming increasingly hostile, "Colonel, I'm sorry,_ I_did not come here to have this particular argument."

He winced and glanced apologetically to Dr. Foote, who now focused her glare on him. "Dr. Foote, perhaps it would be best to stick to discussing solutions we can be a part of. With respect, I do not think that any of we three here can really address this. Civilian and military concerns, eh? They seem never to quite manage to line up. It is a conflict, I believe, that will be fought and settled by others than us."

Sam slid her eyes back and forth between her two crew members, thankful once again for Dr. Aguda's harmony seeking personality. He probably shared some of the same concerns Dr. Foote had, yet he sought to make the best of the current situation. Taking a deep breath and nodding, Sam finally added, "That's probably true."

Glancing down at her watch, Sam pursed her lips. She'd only been able to spare a short amount of time for this meeting, and it was already running over. Not that much progress had been made.

_Damn._

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for right now," she said quietly. "I will do what I can to see what kind of joint projects the science teams can work on when we have to do Icarus runs. I think it would also be useful for you to maybe invest in some longer term ship based research. Something low maintenance that each department can turn to at times when we can't continue our planned experiments."

Dr. Foote still looked mutinous, but said nothing. Dr. Aguda nodded and rose to leave, using his head to beckon his colleague toward the exit. "That is good Ma'am. We...I very much appreciate your concern and assistance. Thank you for meeting with us."

"I'd be happy to meet with you, both, again," Sam added as they headed out the door. She wasn't exactly expecting Dr. Foote to come back, and sure enough only Aguda aknowledged her statement with a small smile. When the room was empty, Sam was left alone with only her uneasiness to keep her company. She sighed and gathered her things and made her way to her office.

_I wonder how many of the civilian scientists feel the same way Dr. Foote does?_

Sam set her tablet on her desk and frowned. She could almost understand if they did. It was a moslty military crew. The civialian scientists were out numbered by soldiers almost 10 to 1. At times, the civilians must feel as though their concerns were being ignored. They couldn't all understand the chain of command, or the importance of following orders. Well, logically they probably understood it, Sam conceded. But they might not all buy into it. Certainly not in the same way that soldiers did. The divide between science and military was a fine line that Sam walked all the time.

Now she had to wonder how she'd balance the issue among her crew. Sam rubbed her eyes, and leaned back in her office chair. Yet another thing to keep her eye on while commanding the _Hammond._She really did love her job, but she could admit, even to herself, that sometimes it made her feel very tired. She had another meeting to go to, but Sam just stayed at her desk. She needed a moment to pause. A moment to breath.

_Don't get so worked up. You only have to worry about getting these supplies to Icarus base. And that whole Lucian Alliance thing. And now this thing with the civilians..._

Sam smiled slightly as she caught sight of the little plastic parachute man that Jack had sent her for her office. It sat on the edge of her desk, right next to her favorite picture of SG1 and Cassie at her graduation. The job made her tired only sometimes, but she always missed them. Sam missed Jack. Reaching over, she picked the little toy up, and settled it into its launcher. She pulled the spring back and let the little soldier man fly. He flew into the air, his parachute opened, and the toy made a graceful arc across the room and onto the floor.

_Sure. I'll manage all this. Piece of cake._

* * *

><p><strong>August 8, 2009<strong>  
>17:45 EST<br>Homeworld Command

Jack sat at his desk closing out his computer and rounding out his files after a long day at work. The _Prometheus _game had served its purpose. Tomorrow Jack and Dr. Rush would be off to meet with some twenty-something college drop out, Eli Wallace. A twenty something, not so very different from Cassie and her friends, her boyfriend even. Kid's file was unremarkable as far as Jack could tell. Even Cass's boyfriend Sean had managed get his undergraduate degree, and a job. This kid didn't even have that. And yet, he'd solved a challenging math puzzle, which meant that Eli Wallace would get the shot at solving an important problem that even the best of the Stargate Program's best scientists couldn't crack.

_Makes so much sense._

Shaking his head, Jack looked up at the sound of a knock on his office door. Senator Armstrong._ Just_the person Jack wanted to see. Not. The politician had somehow finagled his way even further into the Icarus project. He and his 'assistant' would be joining Eli Wallace, taking a trip on Sam's ship to the Icarus planet, to get an up close tour of the base. The president and the IOA, in their infinite wisdom, had approved the trip.

_Another brilliant idea._

Adding insult to injury, Jack knew that even though Sam was in orbit, _so close,_there was no way either of them could work the scheduling to actually physically see each other. And he missed her so much it hurt. So Jack was in a mood.

"What do you want Senator? I'm about to head out so..."

"I was just on my way out of a meeting with Dr. Strom. I thought I'd stop by. I know that you and Dr. Rush will be having the pleasure of meeting our young prodigy tomorrow," Armstrong said smugly, walking up to Jack's desk.

_Oh, so you've come to rub it in. You still think your idea is so great. _

"Dunno if the kid is a prodigy, but yeah. We will."

"It's amazing what sorts of things are possible by moving outside the box. Vetting new ideas and pushing for causes you believe in."

Jack scowled, "Save your campaign speech. I'm not in your district."

Armstrong only blinked sticking his hands in his pockets and rocking on the balls of his feet.

"It's a brave new world, a new universe out there, General," the politician continued, surveying the various medals, photographs and nicknack's that filled the shelved behind Jack's desk.

Jack swiveled in his office chair, turning slightly behind him, trying to figure out which of this office stuff exactly captured Armstrong's eye so. The Senator seemed to have his eye on a picture of Cassie's graduation. Jack, Sam, and the original SG1 and clustered around the joyous graduate.

A half smile spread across Armstrong's face. "You have a daughter."

_I love her like a daughter. _

"Cassie Frasier is," Jack said brow furrowing slightly at the politicians unexpected change of topic, "Very important to me."

_The second most important person in my life, next to Sam._

"Ah, yes. I remember reading the mission file," Senetor Armstrong nodded. "Lone survivor of an alien plague. Discovered by SG1. Obviously that bond has lasted."

The politician still had a dreamy sort of expression, and Jack stared perplexedly as the man leaned closer to him, "She looks about my Chloe's age. So fresh. Full of ideas. And potential. Probably not so different from Mr. Wallace."

Jack tilted his head, sniffed and looked at his hands. "Maybe not," he said guardedly.

"Don't you want her to have the chance to meet her full potential? If that means going out into the universe, wherever our ships and the Stargate could take us, then don't you want her to have every opportunity?" Armstrong had slipped his hands out of his pockets, and now held them clasped together as though he was pleading with Jack to understand. "I know I want that for Chloe, and I think Mr. Wallace's family will too."

"It's a dangerous universe, Senator. I want Cass to be safe. To live long enough to meet her potential. Maybe that makes me a spoilsport, but I know what's out there. And Cassie knows more than most. Your daughter doesn't. Eli Wallace doesn't," Jack said turning in his chair to face the politician. "And frankly, neither do you."

"I know you've been a part of all this for more than a decade," Armstrong continued,"but you have to understand that this program has got to change. And grow. Eventually, every citizen of earth will know about it, and will have the opportunity to contribute. The Stargate is one of our planet's best resources. You can't halt progress."

_You think you've got this all figured out, huh? _

Jack kept his face impassive, and said nothing.

"You don't think I should go to inspect Icarus Base?"

"No, but I doubt my thoughts will stop you," Jack said firmly. "If it were me, I sure as hell wouldn't take my kid with me. Or coax someone else's kid out there. Not until I knew they'd keep safe. Not until I was damned sure they were prepared. But that's just me."

The rush of words from Jack made Armstrong recoil a little, and the made stepped back from Jack's desk, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. He frowned and lowered his eyebrows.  
>"I guess we don't agree then, General."<p>

"I guess not."

As the other man began to make his way out of the office, Jack leaned forward and spoke in an even tone, "You're right, Senator. You can't halt progress. But I don't think it is such a good idea to rush things either."

"Well, we're all allowed to have different opinions. You have yours and I have mine. We'll see how it all plays out. Goodbye, General O' Neill."

Jack narrowed his eyes at Armstrong, muttering a half-hearted, "Bye."

_I hope you have some luck. We'll see how it all plays out._


End file.
